Zambia’s power supply much more than 1,900mw-Ramesh

A coal mining company in Zambia has observed that the country’s electricity power supply deficit is higher than the reported 1, 900 megawatt deficit.

Maamba Collieries Limited Power Plant Project Manager Gadde Ramesh said this is because of the growing demand for the commodity.

The demand has been necessitated by the increasing pace of economic development in the country.

Mr. Ramesh said Zambia is developing at a fast pace with many ongoing development projects consuming a lot of electricity, a situation which has resulted into increasing demand for power supply.

He said this situation means that the country will continue having power deficits for the next couple of years if Zambia’s power utility firm is not complemented with external supply.

He said there is therefore need to generate more power in the country in order to meet the growing demand.

Mr. Ramesh was speaking during the Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ) discussion forum in Lusaka last night.

He said Maamba Collieries’ US$800 million coal-powered thermal electricity generation plant will play a significant role in reducing the power deficit once it is completed.

And EIZ vice president Francis Mwape said there was need for the country to create a pool of technical cadres in engineering in order to grow and sustain productivity of the country.

Mr. Mwape noted with regret that there were few people in the country who were venturing into the engineering career.

He said this situation has the potential to constrain the productivity of the nation as well as the growth domestic product (GDP) and the competitiveness of the country.