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Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader, Antonio Mwanza, has called for a review of all existing Bulk Power Supply Agreements, trading contracts, and a Parliamentary inquiry to ensure Zambia was not losing revenue from its electricity sector.
Mwanza also demanded that the government publish official data from ZESCO, the Energy Regulation Board (ERB), and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) on electricity imports and exports, contracts, and financial flows.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday, Mwanza accused Minister of Energy Makozo Chikote of misleading Zambians about the country’s energy status.
Recently, Chikote dismissed as “politicking” revelations that the government and ZESCO were using middlemen in electricity imports and exports.
Mwanza said the Minister’s claim that “ZESCO imports directly and does not use middlemen” was misleading, because according to the ERB, ZESCO is no longer the sole importer or exporter of electricity.
He pointed out that under the Electricity (Open Access) Regulations, 2024 (SI 40), ZESCO’s monopoly was removed, allowing private power traders such as Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), Africa GreenCo, Enterprise Power, and others to import electricity and use ZESCO’s infrastructure for a fee.
“Independent traders are importing power and supplying mines and customers, often where ZESCO itself could have undertaken the transactions,” Mwanza said.
Mwanza also disputed the Minister’s claim that none of the power exported by private traders comes from ZESCO, citing a 13-year Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA) signed in 2022 between CEC and ZESCO.
Under this agreement, CEC purchases bulk electricity from ZESCO and resells it to mines.
“Some private traders buy directly from ZESCO and then resell.
Therefore, it is untrue to say ‘none of the exported power comes from ZESCO,” Mwanza said.
He further challenged Chikote’s figures that “ZESCO imported an average of 238 megawatts while private traders brought in 358 megawatts,” noting that these numbers were not supported by any published ERB, ZESCO, or SAPP report.
“CEC alone wheeled an average of 248 MW in 2021 on behalf of ZESCO (CEC Annual Report). Yet the Minister gave no source for his numbers. Without published, verifiable data, the Minister’s figures remain political rhetoric, not evidence,” Mwanza stated.
Mwanza explained that every time an independent trader imports or exports power through Zambia, ZESCO earns only a wheeling fee for the use of its infrastructure. He cited the GreenCo–FQM deal, where ZESCO acted merely as a facilitator while GreenCo financed $50 million worth of imports to supply approximately 125 MW, leaving ZESCO without trading margins.
“This model deprives ZESCO of billions of Kwacha in potential revenue, weakening its balance sheet while private traders pocket the profits,” Mwanza said.
He added that outsourcing import and export functions to private traders reduces ZESCO to a “transmission company,” while it continues to bear the cost of infrastructure maintenance and national energy security.
“The Minister of Energy has chosen to play politics with the suffering of Zambians. Instead of being honest about the structural weaknesses in ZESCO and the questionable role of private traders, he has chosen to mislead the nation,” Mwanza said.
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