Page 6 - AfrElec Week 44 2022
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AfrElec INVESTMENT AfrElec
Zambia needs $14bn
to meet doubling of
electricity demand
ZAMBIA ZAMBIA will need $14bn to expand its electric- The Ministry of Energy’s Permanent Secre-
ity supply system so that it meets a likely dou- tary for Administration, Francesca Zyambo, said
bling of demand by 2040, according to Alfred that the green paper was not the government’s
Mwila, director for Economic Regulation at the final position and encouraged stakeholders to
Energy Regulation Board (ERB), as reported in provide feedback on the research so that the
the Lusaka Times. government could come up with an inclusive
Speaking on Thursday, October 27, at a pres- paper that will ensure that the country’s electric-
entation of the findings of the electricity Cost ity sub-sector will be managed for the benefit of
Service Study (CSS) carried out between 2019 everyone.
and 2021, Mwila said that the southern African Her ministry and the ERB will conduct
country’s demand was 2,143 MW in 2020 and nationwide consultations to allow for divergent
was forecast to rise to 4,168 MW by 2040. views before the government comes up with a
The study sought to determine the cost of white paper containing its final position and pol-
electricity from generation to distribution in icy direction.
order to come up with an appropriate tariff that In June 2022, the country said that its electric-
would in turn improve the power companies’ ity output of 3,456 MW had exceeded the peak
service delivery. demand of 2,300 MW, yielding a surplus of 1,156
Unlike the 2006 study, which focused on just MW.
one utility, Zambia Electricity Corp. (ZESCO),
the new study took into account that there were
now more players in the sector, Mwila said.
Kenya Power net profit rises
$29mn on low tax expenses
KENYA KENYA Power’s net profit rose by 134.8% to “The corporate tax rate reverted to 30% from
KES3.5bn (29.2mn) for the year to June 2022 25% in 2021, hence the significant movement in
from KES1.49bn ($12.5mn) a year before as the the comparative tax expense,” it added.
state-backed power utility company continued However, the firm revealed that the weaken-
to improve its efficiency despite the challenges ing of the shilling against major world currencies
it has been facing in recent years, the utility firm and a surge in use of costly thermal electricity
said in its financial report. following major downtimes recorded by geo-
According to the utility firm, the strong thermal, wind and hydropower plants (HPPs)
financial performance was attributed to a lower were the major challenges.
tax expense, a reduction in operating expenses A weak shilling meant that the company had
and the taming of electricity theft. to spend more in servicing foreign currency
The higher profit recorded was mainly due to denominated loans, it further explained.
the lower tax expense, which fell to KES1.62bn “Our focus for this financial year [is] set on
during the year to June from KES6.71bn for the building on the momentum built during the
previous year. previous financial years when the turn-around
“Profit after tax increased to KES3.5bn from strategy was rolled out,” acting managing direc-
KES1.49bn after the tax expense for the year tor Geoffrey Muli stated.
under review reduced from KES6.71bn to KES-
1.62bn,” it stated.
P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 02•November•2022
