President Hakainde Hichilema has urged Vedanta Resources to accelerate investment in power generation, linking the request directly to Zambia's goal of reaching 10,000 megawatts of electricity capacity under his government's second-term "Grow Zambia Agenda." The President made the call during a meeting with Vedanta's Head of Strategy and Growth, Pushpender Singla, in Lusaka, where they discussed further expansion at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) alongside the company's copper production goals.

Hichilema said the government had received an update on Vedanta's plans to push copper output toward 500,000 metric tonnes, a figure he described as a major contribution to Zambia's broader three-million-tonne national target, and urged the company to fast-track power investment to support both its mining operations and the country's energy goals.

The push for reliable electricity comes as KCM's expansion plans place growing strain on the grid. Vedanta has committed more than $1 billion toward rehabilitating and expanding the mine since regaining operational control of KCM in 2024, following a prolonged dispute with the Zambian government. KCM alone has historically consumed around 250MW of power, a significant share of national industrial demand, and reliable electricity remains one of the biggest constraints on Zambia's copper sector.

To address that gap, Vedanta has revived plans for a 300MW coal-fired power plant, estimated to cost roughly $300 million, intended to reduce KCM's reliance on third-party suppliers such as Copperbelt Energy Corporation and national utility ZESCO.

The power question sits alongside a larger expansion drive. In November 2025, Vedanta announced a $1.5 billion investment to lift KCM's copper output to 300,000 tonnes by 2031, as part of a restructuring that included creating a new subsidiary, CopperTech Metals Inc., to run the mine. Zambia's state mining investment arm, ZCCM Investment Holdings, has said Vedanta's planned U.S. listing of CopperTech could help accelerate a jointly owned $2.7 billion expansion project.

Zambia is planning to raise national copper output to three million tonnes by 2031, up from roughly 822,000 tonnes in 2024, with several mining companies announcing expansion projects to support that goal.