By STEPHEN KAPAMBWE –
FOR a long time, Zambia’s electricity generation has been based on hydro energy.
But the prevailing power deficit has called for e rethink of hydroelectricity dependency.
This is especially in view of increasing climate change effects which have left the country grappling with incessant power blackouts owing to low water levels at major hydropower generation sites.
Recently, Energy and Water Development Minister Dora Siliya announced Government’s plans to review the country’s energy master plan so as to arrest electricity shortage.
The Government also plans to speed up water harvesting mechanisms to enhance electricity generation and better manage the country’s water resource.
“The ministry of Energy and Water Development will strive in 2016 to reduce the electricity deficit,” Ms Siliya said. “I am pleased that the first unit of Itezhi Tezhi was successfully commissioned.”
The Itezhi Tezhi power station will generate 120 MW of electricity once fully completed.
Ms Siliya said investment in hydro and solar power remained a priority as low water levels at major hydroelectricity generation sites persisted.
Recently, two British firms expressed interest to establish two 300 MW coal powered plants on the Copperbelt and in Southern Province.
This comes in the wake of Government’s appeal to the private sector to help resolve the power deficit by investing in electricity generation.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said the two companies wanted to set up one thermal plant in the Copperbelt town of Ndola and the other in Sinazongwe District in Southern Province.
A thermal power plant is currently under construction at the Maamba Coal mine in Southern Province.
The plant, which has been under construction since 2012, is being built by Maamba Collieries, a company run by Nava Bharat of Singapore.
The power station, scheduled to have been completed towards the end 2015, will provide 300 MW of electricity to the national power grid.
In addition to this plant, Government was in talks with an Indian-based company which had expressed willingness to build a second coal-powered plant that could generate 300 MW in the first phase.
The second phase of the project was earmarked to generate another 300 MW to bring the total capacity to 600 MW.
Government is yet to provide updates on how far that project has gone.
Besides these thermal projects, the development of solar energy has been another area of interest.
Recently, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) shortlisted 11 companies from nine countries that pre-qualified to submit bids for the development of the initial 2×50 MW utility-scale power plants.
The eleven were prequalified to develop the initial 2×50 MW solar power projects under the first round of a 600 MW scaling solar project which was announced and launched in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The solar project followed President Lungu’s directive to the IDC to call for applications to commence the process of redressing the power deficit and resultant national crisis.
The initial phase formed part of the drive for urgent development and installation of at least 600 MW of solar power.
The project originally attracted 48 “high calibre” companies that applied to participate in the grid-scale solar power initiative following the closing of submission of applications for
prequalification in October, 2015.
The Government also identified five hydroelectricity power generation sites on the Luapula River.
The river, which is located in the northern part of the country, provided an alternative location for hydroelectricity in that it was located in the northern half of the country that is not as prone to dry spells and subsequent low water levels as the southern parts of the country where all major hydroelectricity plants are located.
Whereas the northern half of the country is well watered in terms of lakes and rivers as well as good rainfall, the southern half is prone to dry spells despite of having important rivers like the Kafue and the Zambezi.
The Government also launched the construction of Kafue Lower hydropower station, that first major power investment project in over 40 years.
All these energy projects are aimed at tapping into Zambia’s enormous power generation potential which has remained largely unexploited as the Government, through the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has admitted.
According to the ZDA, Zambia’s energy sources, besides hydroelectricity, include petroleum, coal, biomass, and renewable energy forms like solar power, etcetera.
It is only petroleum which is wholly imported in the country, while the nation is basically self-sufficient in all the other energy resources as it has “substantial unexploited reserves” of these forms of energy which the Government is now trying to exploit.
According to the ZDA, Zambia is estimated to possesses   40   per cent of   the   water   resources in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in form of lakes, rivers and over 19 waterfalls of which only the Victoria Falls has a hydropower station.
This means that even with climate change effects, the country has an estimated 6,000 MW unexploited hydropower potential of which only 2,177 MW has been developed.
It is only now that the country is beginning to exploit its thermal energy potential, not to talk about other energy forms that are still unexplored.
But whereas supply has remained static, demand for power in the various sectors of the economy has grown rapidly over the years.
Presenting Zambia’s energy sector profile in September, 2014, the ZDA noted that Zambia’s economy has been growing at an average of five pe rcent per annum over the past 10 years and demand for energy has also been rising.
“The demand for the most important energy source in the country – electricity – has been growing at an average of about three pe rcent per annum mainly due to the increased economic activity especially in the agriculture, manufacturing and mining sectors, as well as increased activity in the region.
“Furthermore, the country’s growing economy has also lead to an increase in the demand for the other forms of energy such as petroleum and coal, as these are key factors of production and operations in
most economic sectors,” the ZDA said.
According to the agency, the demand for renewable energies has also seen significant growth in the recent years as the market explores alternative sources of energy, with renewable energies proving to be a viable alternative.
The ZDA described potential for investment in energy as “enormous”.
But this is just a tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Zambia is surrounded by countries in a region that is equally faced with electricity shortage.
The ZDA energy sector profile indicated that by 2014, electricity consumption by the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) was about 50,000 MW per annum, just 5,000 MW short of the installed capacity of 55,000 MW.
ZDA warned that SAPP, which is composed of Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia itself, and Zimbabwe faced an annual growth rate averaging five per cent per annum.
At that rate, regional demand was projected to reach 80,000 MW per annum by last year, meaning regional demand had already outstripped supply by about 30,000 MW.
Therefore, if Zambia can fully exploit its power generation potential, it can easily become a regional electricity generation hub and earn colossal sums of money from electricity exports.