Zambia’s unrelenting efforts to build a climate-resilient energy system are a stone's throw away from releasing between 500-800 Megawatts (MW) of solar electricity in the national grid by year-end, discloses Eng. Ernest Banda, ZESCO’s Director - Power Generation.
This projection is motivated by a multilayer of government and private sector-driven solar projects being undertaken across the country in response to President Hakainde Hichilema’s led national energy mix diversification agenda.
“Probably by the close of 2025, we are looking at close to 500-800MW in the solar space. This will help us supply you with more hours of electricity than the 7 hours we are currently struggling to give you,” Eng. Banda told journalists on Thursday, 29 May 2025 during the 120MW Ithezi-Tezhi power station tour led by Energy Minister Makozo Chikote.
President Hichilema is in a few weeks expected to officially commission the 100MW Chisamba solar project, marking the first injection of the country’s biggest solar energy into the national grid.
This addition will be the first step towards reaching the projected 1,000MW of solar energy targeted to improve the national electricity supply.
“With an additional 800MW, we will be able to send a strong signal to cure load shedding. So, what we are saying is that there is room this year for improvements as long as we can bring in key projects that will help with the mix that we have,” Eng. Banda added.
13 News Editor Tour of Itezhi-Tezhi Power Station
To enhance stakeholder engagement and awareness of the national electricity generation situation, particularly in light of the drought-induced hydroelectricity deficit, ZESCO Limited facilitated a tour of the Itezhi-Tezhi hydropower station for 13 news editors.
The tour underscored ZESCO's commitment to partnering with the media to communicate government efforts to address the electricity gap and promote various electricity solutions.
Meanwhile, the Energy Minister urged the media to use the tour to report correctly and effectively on the state of electricity generation in the aftermath of the rainy season and efforts being taken to address load shedding.
“My interest here is to make sure that we answer the questions about the rains people were seeing. This is the answer that you people [media] have not given to the nation. I am sure you have gotten an explanation from our experts about the impact of the rains we received on electricity generation. The expectation is that starting from tomorrow people should be given the correct picture about the impact of the rains on generation,” Hon. Chikote said.
He added that the ongoing implementation of solar projects will not be realized in the blink of an eye, citing the soon-to-be-commissioned 100MW Chisamba project as an example.
“We are now trying to tap into other alternative sources of energy to make sure that we address the power deficit facing the country. However, you have also been told that it takes time to implement these solar power plants. So, from now to 2025 December, we will be observing how these projects are being implemented. We are not going to be stagnant. We will be responding as we continue commissioning these solar projects to reduce the power deficit that we are facing.”