Load
shedding hits the manufacturing sector in Zambia.
Jan11th
2023.
By Raphael Banda
The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) has noted the efforts that the Government is putting in
place to mitigate the challenges associated with load shedding in the country.
In the statement, the association observed that hydro
remains the main source of energy in Zambia contributing about 81.5% to the
total national installed electricity capacity as of 2021.
However, the Association expressed concern with the
inconsistencies in the communication regarding the number of hours of load
shedding and adherence thereto Load shedding came into effect on 3rd January 2023
.
“ On 8th January 2023, another
statement was issued announcing a reduction in the power outage period from 12
hours to 6 hours effect 9th January 2023.Despite this split in the power outage
period, the effect on the sector is still immense. Load shedding has increased
production costs for most manufacturers in form of an increase in fuel expenditure
to run generators, as some companies project to spend millions of Kwacha on
diesel every month,” the statement read in part.
The ZAM pointed out that the negative impact
of this on the already overburdened foreign exchange requirements cannot be
understated as the country’s fuel consumption will rise. This may inevitably influence
the exchange rate and inflationary targets in the country.
“We are encouraged by the interventions by the Head of State
in engaging stakeholders and would
further ask Government to hold accountable those responsible
for planning the energy supply in
the country for any shortcomings so we may plan for
undisrupted electricity supply in the country
in the future,”
ZAM further encouraged Government to implement policies to
encourage energy
production by the Private sector.
The manufacturers hub explained that while they commend
Government for reducing the export of electricity to other countries, they
would ask for a total suspension of this in the interim to stabilize the local
requirements of our industries.
Ends//Rb
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