ZESCO reintroduces electricity subsidies to benefit 8,300 new connections
Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited, the national electricity provider, has announced a significant move to enhance electricity access for low-income households and small-scale enterprises across Zambia.
The company’s Managing Director, Victor Mapani, shared through a statement that they are reintroducing an electricity connection subsidy as part of the Electricity Service Access Project (ESAP).
This initiative aims to extend electricity access primarily to rural areas. Under this program, a total of 8,300 new electricity connections will be established, benefiting both households and small-scale enterprises.
Out of these, 7,800 connections are earmarked for households, while 500 connections are set aside for small-scale enterprises. The project’s implementation will span the entire country, contributing to the ongoing efforts to improve living conditions and economic opportunities in rural regions.
The ESAP project is a collaborative effort between the Government of the Republic of Zambia, the Rural Electrification Authority, and ZESCO Limited.
Its primary focus is to overcome the electricity access gap in rural areas, thereby supporting sustainable development and improving the overall quality of life for those communities.
In 2017, when ESAP was initiated, it consisted of two main components – Component A1 and Component A2. Component A1 focused on subsidy connections, while Component A2 aimed at grid extension and strengthening.
These endeavors received a funding of USD26.5 million from the World Bank and initially targeted the connection of 22,000 low-income households and 1,000 medium-scale enterprises within five years.
As of June 15, 2022, when Component A1 concluded, a remarkable achievement was realized. A total of 58,411 new electricity connections were established throughout the nation.
The distribution of these connections varied across provinces, as follows, Copperbelt (1,848), North West (3,130), Western (3,640) and for Northern (3,94) In Lusaka, the project achieved 5,359 connections, Central Province (5,409) Luapula (7,959), Muchinga (8,259), Southern (8,930), while in Eastern (9,936).
