Zambia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in zambia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Select Country Guide
Energy
Last published date:

Overview

Zambia has 2,800 MW of installed electricity generation capacity, of which 83 percent is from hydro, nine percent from coal, five percent from heavy fuel oil, and three percent from solar.  The mining sector is the country’s largest power consumer, using 51 percent of total generated electricity, followed by the domestic sector at 33 percent.  Only 43 percent of Zambians have access to the national power grid (67 percent of urban residents; and 14.5 percent of rural residents). 

ZESCO, a vertically integrated parastatal utility, operates government-owned power stations, and is responsible for maintaining and installing transmission lines and distribution networks.  Zambia’s electricity market is structured as a single-buyer market, with ZESCO acting as the sole off-taker and bulk retailer of electricity through the national grid.  Independent Power Producers (IPPs) operate their own assets and generate electricity, however, to distribute it via the grid, they must sell the electricity to ZESCO through Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).  Off-grid IPPs can operate and distribute independently.  Zambia’s main hydroelectric power facilities are the Kariba North Bank Power Station (1,080 MW), Kafue Gorge Power Station (980MW), Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station (750 MW), Victoria Falls Power Station (108 MW), Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Station (56 MW), and the Itezhi Tezhi Hydro Power Station (120 MW).  Maamba Collieries Limited operates Zambia’s largest IPP, a coal-fired thermal power plant commissioned in 2016, which can generate up to 300 MW. 

Zambia’s installed solar capacity is 89 MW.  Zambia has two utility scale solar power plants:  French company, Neoen, and U.S. company, First Solar, own and operate the 47.5 MW Bangweulu Solar Power Station in Lusaka, of which the Zambian government holds a 20 percent stake through its Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).  Italian firm, Enel Green Power, owns and operates the 34 MW Ngonye Solar Power Station, in Lusaka Province.

Sub-Sector Best Prospects

Solar Power:  

Zambia has abundant potential to generate additional solar power as it possesses ample and intense sunlight, averaging about 2,000 - 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. 

Power Africa

Power Africa is a market-driven, U.S. Government-led public-private partnership aiming to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.  It offers tools and resources to private sector entities to facilitate doing business in sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector.  The Electrify Africa Act of 2015 institutionalized Power Africa.  Learn more about the full Power Africa toolbox (https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/toolbox) or other opportunities offered by Power Africa (https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/aboutus).  Power Africa has supported the development of 208 MW of electricity generation projects in Zambia.  In addition, various firms have received U.S. Embassy support to move transactions forward.  This link provides an overview of the energy sector in Zambia, explains Power Africa’s involvement and lists Power Africa’s financially closed transactions in country.

Opportunities

Given Zambia’s continually growing power needs, for commercial and residential use, and ability to export through the Southern Africa Power Pool, there are significant investment opportunities in on- and off-grid power generation, particularly with regards to renewable energy sources.  

There are opportunities in electricity generation and transmission, storage, particularly with regards to renewable energy sources (i.e. wind, solar, and hydro).  While Zambia has the potential to generate 2,300 MW of solar and 3,000 MW of wind, only 76 MW of solar has been installed and there is no wind power to date.

Key government and regulatory agencies for energy and solar projects:

 

Industrial Development Corporation (Zambia) Limited

610 Independence Avenue, Prospect Hill

P.O. Box 37232, Lusaka, Zambia

Tel: +260 211 843 567 | +260 211 843 568 | +260 967 773 007

info@idc.co.zm

https://www.idc.co.zm/

 

Ministry of Energy

Mulungushi House

P.O. Box 50069

Lusaka, Zambia

Tel: +260 211 252 666 | +260 211 252 698

https://www.moe.gov.zm/

 

Energy Regulation Board

Plot No 9330,

Off Alick Nkhata Road

P.O. Box 37631

Lusaka, Zambia

Tel: +260 211 258 844 | +260 211 258 849

https://www.erb.org.zm

×

Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

Privacy Program | Information Quality Guidelines | Accessibility