By: OrePulse

Zambia's government has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving universal electricity access after Minister of Electricity Peter Kapala praised a financial turnaround at state-owned power utility ZESCO Limited, which posted a profit of 6.5 billion kwacha last year following years of financial difficulty.

Kapala made the comments during a familiarization visit to the offices of ZESCO, Zambia's main electricity utility, in one of his first such engagements with the company since being appointed minister. He attributed the turnaround to "sound policies and reforms aimed at strengthening the electricity sector," without naming specific measures taken by the government or the utility.

The minister said expanding electricity access remains a government priority, tied to a goal of connecting three million customers to the grid. "Our ambition to connect three million customers by 2030 is part of the Government's commitment," Kapala said.

ZESCO Managing Director Justin Loongo said the sector reforms had "opened up opportunities for private sector investment" in the utility. He said ZESCO is pursuing renewable energy projects, strengthening its transmission network and exploring regional electricity trading opportunities, as part of plans aligned with national generation targets of 10,000 megawatts of capacity by 2029 and 12,000 megawatts by 2031.

Loongo added that ZESCO aims to grow its customer base from 1.5 million to three million by 2031, and said Zambia has already surpassed 1,000 megawatts of installed solar generation capacity.

ZESCO's Director of Transmission Operations and Trade, Lioko Sitali, said the 10,000-megawatt generation target is now expected to be reached ahead of schedule. "We expect to reach the 10,000-megawatt milestone by 2029, a year earlier than initially projected," Sitali said.

Sitali projected that by 2030, Zambia's generation mix would comprise 4,126 megawatts from solar, 3,970 megawatts from hydropower, 3,234 megawatts from thermal sources, 200 megawatts from wind and 100 megawatts from other sources, including biomass.

ZESCO currently serves about 1.5 million customers, according to Loongo, against the three-million target the utility and the ministry have set for the years ahead. The company's declared profit and the generation and connection targets were presented by Kapala and ZESCO's leadership as evidence of progress in the government's broader plan to expand electricity generation capacity and widen access across Zambia.