World Report

ew moves to extend the role it plays in facilitating the regional energy market are being made by the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), which currently operates the only physical link between the power producers in the north and the potential market to the south.

CEC is to upgrade the interconnector between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to enable increased electricity trading within the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

Acting Chief Executive Kevin Chapman explains: “We have already increased the capacity of the existing line from 210 megawatts to 260 megawatts. The next big step is to construct a second power line along the existing route of the first line. It will have the same voltage but will double the capacity to 500 megawatts.”

The company is also involved in plans to establish a Zambia-Tanzania interconnector, which would facilitate exports of power surplus from Zambia and Southern African power pool countries to East Africa.

“We think it is an exciting win-win project,” says Mr Chapman, who adds that it would have to be carried out on a joint venture basis. “We have the technical competence and would make an ideal local partner for an overseas investor,” he says.

CEC supplies electricity bought from ZESCO to all the key mining operations within the Copperbelt. Widely recognised as a success story of Zambia’s privatisation initiative, the former power division of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines was acquired by the UK’s National Grid in a joint venture with MPI International, now known as Cinergy Global Power, with ZCCM-IH retaining a 20 percent holding.