The amount of load shedding by ZESCO has been cut from 12 to 8 hours each day.
As a result, the power management will be divided into a four-hour loadshedding period rather than the previous six hours.
The Maamba Collieries Power Plant’s repair work, which was shut down for maintenance, was finished three days earlier than expected, necessitating the reduction in load-shedding.
The load management timetable has been changed, according to a statement from acting energy minister Douglas Syakalima.
According to him, loadshedding started because of the low water levels, and it was extended to 12 hours a day after Maamba Collieries’ 150 Megawatt unit was shut down.
“Following the intervention by the Republican President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, when he visited the Power Plant on January 8th, Maamba committed to expedite the maintenance works in order to cushion the power deficit. I am happy, therefore, to inform the general public that maintenance works at Maamba were completed on January 17th, 2023, three days ahead of schedule and the Power Plant is now operating at full capacity,” he said.
Mr. Syakalima applauded Maamba Collieries management for their swift and enthusiastic reaction to the President’s appeal.
According to him, Maamba Collieries Limited’s 150 Megawatt generator has been restored, and as of January 19th, 2023, there are 1,910 Megawatts of available generation to meet the 2,380 Megawatt power requirement.
“This has resulted in a reduced power deficit from 620 Megawatts to 470 Megawatts. Given the above development, the load-sheding duration has since been reviewed and revised downwards from 12 hours to 8 hours. In this regard, customers will now be load-shed twice in a day with each interval lasting 4 hours, against the initial interval of 6 hours. This means customers will first be load-shed for 4 hours, then have power for 8 hours after which they will be load-shed for another 4 hours. With this adjustment, customers will have power for a total of 16 hours in a day as opposed to the previous 12 hours of power supply,” he said.
Mr Syakalima added by assuring the general public and the business community that Government is doing everything possible to normalize the situation.
