ZESCO (acronym for Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited) is a

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

power company in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. 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 The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is a cooperation of the national electricity companies in Southern Africa under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The members of SAPP have created a common power grid betwe ...

History

ZESCO was formed as Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited by

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in December 1969. It took over responsibilities from several municipalities and the tree existing utilities: Victoria Falls Power Board, Central Electricity Corporation, and Northern Electricity Supply Corporation.

Operations

The company operates nine hydropower stations with a potential combined capacity of 2,217.5 MW and eight small

thermal power plants A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...

with a combined potential capacity of 11.3 MW resulting in a total of 2,228.8 MW. Due to poor maintenance and substandard practices, these capacities are not achieved. 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

. It purchases the power produced and feeds is partially into the national grid, with a higher portion resold to neighboring countries. GL Africa Energy provides the national grid through ZESCO with over 105 MW of power under this agreement. ZESCO owns 40% shares in EL Sewedy Electric Zambia Limited. In June 2022, ZESCO signed a 13-year Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA) with

Copperbelt Energy Corporation 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 (symbol: CECZ) Operations Zambia ...

(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. In July 2022, at the 94t
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 An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

(EV) charging stations across the country in an effort to accelerate and promote the transition to EVs and enhance carbon emission reduction. But has made no forward effort to this commitment. In November 2024, nation-wide blackouts occurred. Although the power was restored the next day, ZESCO struggled to keep up with the electricity demands in Zambia and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Power stations

* Kafue Gorge Lower, 750 MW * Kafue Gorge Upper, 990 MW * Kariba North Bank, 720 MW * Kariba North Bank Extension, 360 MW *

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

, 108 MW * Itezhi-Tezhi Dam, 120 MW * Maamba Collieries Thermal Power Station, 300 MW

Limitations

The national grid in Zambia only extends to some parts of the country. For example, it ends 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 due to an increase in shareholder allotments. In response, some small-scale private operations have been established such as the Zengamina 700 KW hydroelectric generator. The Energy Regulation Board is encouraging private investment in hydroelectric power generation in view of the power deficit.

References

External links