ZESCO

Last updated

Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited
Type Public
IndustryElectricity Generation and Supply
Founded1970
Headquarters Lusaka, Zambia
RevenueUS$ 409 million (2017)
Number of employees
3,600 (2007)
Parent State owned
Website www.zesco.co.zm

ZESCO (acronym for Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited) is a state-owned power company in Zambia. It is Zambia's largest power company producing about 80% of the electricity consumed in the country. ZESCO represents Zambia in the Southern African Power Pool.

Contents

Operations

The company operates nine hydropower stations with a combined capacity of 2,217.5  MW and eight small thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 11.3 MW resulting in a total installed capacity of 2,228.8 MW. [1]

The company also owns and operates power distribution and transmission lines of 9,975 km.

ZESCO has formed power purchase agreements with private companies that own power plants in Zambia. It purchases the power produced and feeds is directly into the national grid. GL Africa Energy provides the national grid through ZESCO with over 105 MW of power under this agreement. [2]

ZESCO owns 40% shares in EL Sewedy Electric Zambia Limited. [3]

In June 2022, ZESCO signed a 13-year Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA) with Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) Plc. The power supply limit under the BSA was set at 380MW. ZESCO projects that they will earn an estimated US$150.0 million per annum from the agreement. These earnings are expected to translate into an estimated US$2.0 billion over the lifetime of the BSA. [4]

In July 2022, at the 94th Agricultural and Commercial Show in Lusaka, the managing director of the National Utility ZESCO, Victor Mapani announced that the company plans to deploy Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country in an effort to accelerate and promote the transition to EVs and enhance carbon emission reduction. [5]

Power stations

Limitations

The national grid in Zambia only extends to some parts of the country. For example, it ends 380 kilometres (240 mi) from the Ikelenge area around Kalene Hill in the extreme northwest, and as of 2008, ZESCO had no plans to provide power to this remote area. In response, some small-scale private operations have been established such as the Zengamina 700 KW hydroelectric generator. [6] The Energy Regulation Board is encouraging private investment in hydroelectric power generation in view of the power deficit. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kariba Dam</span> Dam in Zambia, Zimbabwe

The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands 128 metres (420 ft) tall and 579 metres (1,900 ft) long. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends for 280 kilometres (170 mi) and holds 185 cubic kilometres (150,000,000 acre⋅ft) of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ndola</span> City in Copperbelt Province, Zambia

Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194, after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the industrial and commercial center of the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It lies just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border with DR Congo. It is also home to Zambia's first modern stadium, the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itezhi-Tezhi Dam</span> Dam in Itezhi-Tezhi, Zambia

The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam on the Kafue River in west-central Zambia was built between 1974 and 1977 at the Itezhi-Tezhi Gap, in a range of hills through which the river had eroded a narrow valley, leading to the broad expanse of the wetlands known as the Kafue Flats. The town of Itezhi-Tezhi is to the east side of the dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in India</span>

Solar power is a fast developing industry in India. The country's solar installed capacity was 63.303 GWAC as of 31 December 2022. Solar power generation in India ranks fourth globally in 2021.

The electricity sector in Colombia is dominated by large hydropower generation (65%) and thermal generation (35%). Despite the country's large potential in new renewable energy technologies, this potential has been barely tapped. A 2001 law designed to promote alternative energies lacks certain key provisions to achieve this objective, such as feed-in tariffs, and has had little impact so far. Large hydropower and thermal plants dominate the current expansion plans. The construction of a transmission line with Panama, which will link Colombia with Central America, is underway.

The electricity sector in Argentina constitutes the third largest power market in Latin America. It relies mostly on thermal generation and hydropower generation (36%). The prevailing natural gas-fired thermal generation is at risk due to the uncertainty about future gas supply.

Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, (ZESA) whose official name is ZESA Holdings (Private) Limited, is a state-owned company whose task is to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity in Zimbabwe. It has organized this task by delegation to its subsidiaries, the energy generating company Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC). Other subsidiaries are the investment branch ZESA Enterprises (ZENT) and internet provider PowerTel Communications (Private) Limited. ZESA is the only electricity generator and supplier for the public grid. For many years the company has failed to produce enough energy to meet demands. ZESA produced an estimated 6.8 billion kWh in 2016, while demand was estimated at 7.118 billion kWh. ZESA represents Zimbabwe in the Southern African Power Pool.

According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2021 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2014, Canada consumed the equivalent of 85.7 megatonnes worth of oil of hydroelectricity, 9.8% of worldwide hydroelectric consumption. Furthermore, hydroelectricity accounted for 25.7% of Canada's total energy consumption. It is the third-most consumed energy in Canada behind oil and natural gas.

The Kafue Gorge Upper Power Station (KGU), is an operational 900 megawatts (1,206,920 hp) hydroelectric power plant across the Kafue River in Zambia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Sri Lanka</span>

The electricity sector in Sri Lanka has a national grid which is primarily powered by hydroelectric power and thermal power, with sources such as photovoltaics and wind power in early stages of deployment. Although potential sites are being identified, other power sources such as geothermal, nuclear, solar thermal and wave power are not used in the power generation process for the national grid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copperbelt Energy Corporation</span>

Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc (CEC) is a Zambian electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply company with operations in Zambia and Nigeria. The company is listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Armenia</span>

The electricity sector of Armenia includes several companies engaged in electricity generation and distribution. Generation is carried out by multiple companies both state-owned and private.

Zambia is potentially self-sufficient in sources of electricity, coal, biomass and renewable energy. The only energy source where the country is not self-sufficient is petroleum energy. Many of the sources of energy where the country is self-sufficient are largely unexploited. As of 2017, the country's electricity generating capacity stood at 1,901 megawatts.

Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station (KGL), is a 750 megawatts (1,010,000 hp) hydroelectric power station under construction in Zambia.

Ngonye Solar Power Station (NSPS), is a 34 MW (46,000 hp) solar power plant in Zambia. The solar farm that was commercially commissioned in April 2019, was developed and is owned by a consortium comprising Enel Green Power of Italy, a multinational renewable energy corporation, and the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia (IDC), a parastatal company. The power station cost about US$40 million to develop.

The Kalulushi Concentrated Solar Power Station, also Kalulushi CSP Station, is a proposed 200 MW (270,000 hp) concentrated solar power plant in Zambia. The power station is under development by three IPPs, Margam Valley Solar Energy Corporation, Afrisolar Power and EnergyLine Zambia. The power generated here will be integrated into the national grid through Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO).

Chishimba Hydroelectric Power Station is a 15 megawatts (20,000 hp) hydroelectric power station that sits across the Luombe River in Zambia. The power station, first commissioned in 1959, was rehabilitated and expanded in 1971 and again expanded and modernized in the 2020s. This power station is owned by the Government of Zambia and is operated and maintained by Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO), the national electricity utility company. The energy generated here is distributed to the city of Kasama and other parts of Kasama District.

Not to be confused with Lunsemfwa Hydroelectric Power Station

References

Notes

  1. Energy Sector Report 2014 (PDF) (Report). Energy Regulation Board, Zambia. 2015.
  2. Kangali, Chatula (29 April 2016). "Zambia: Ndola Energy Project to Expand". The Times of Zambia (Ndola). Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  3. zambiadispatch (27 April 2022). "zesco-receives-2m-dividend-from-el-sewedy-electric". zambiadispatch.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  4. daily-mail (11 July 2022). "zesco-to-earn-2bn-from-cec-deal". daily-mail.co.zm. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  5. zambianobserver (30 July 2022). "zesco-to-deploy-ev-charging-stations-in-many-towns-mapani". zambianobserver.com. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  6. "Zengamina Hydro Project". North West Zambia Development Trust. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  7. "ERB Approves Zengamina Tariffs" (PDF). The Energy Regulator (SECOND ed.). 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2011.