The Energy Regulatory Board – ERB has disclosed that notable progress has been made on the Electricity Cost of Service Study being undertaken by Energy Market and Regulatory Consultant – EMRC despite the covid 19 pandemic. EMRC has do far successfully completed and submitted the Inception Report which outlines the roadmap for the study.
Energy Minister Matthew Nkhuwa had in December last year launched the Electricity Cost of Service study which will among other reports indicate the cost of electricity, undertake the load forecast and develop the system expansion plan to meet the future demand in an efficient and effective manner.
ERB Public Relations Manager Kwali Mfuni told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview that two stakeholder consultation workshops have so far been conducted in Lusaka and Kitwe and that draft reports on the second and third tasks have also been submitted.
She said the study which is set to be conducted within a period of one year has been made possible with financing from the African Development Bank – AfDB which will establish the cost of generating, transmitting and distributing power in the most efficient manner and translating the costs into the unit cost of energy for each customer category.
Mfuni said among the drafts submitted, one is the review of the market structure and conduct of the power sector including the Legal and Regulatory Framework while the other is the electricity load forecast. She added that it is worth noticing that EMRC is expected to submit reports on 12 tasks prior to completion of the Cost of Service Study and currently they have successfully submitted one report, while two reports are still in draft form.
“So far, ERB is happy with the stakeholder co-operation and wishes to commend institutions that have provided inputs towards the study specifically, the Bank of Zambia, Zambia Statistics Agency, Metrological Department, Department of Energy, ZESCO, Copperbelt Energy Corporation – CEC, Zambia Chamber of Mines, Rural Electrification Authority – REA, Maamba Collieries and the North-Western Energy Corporation,” She said.
EMRC is a UK based consultancy firm and was engaged at a total cost of about US$600,000. The Electricity cost of service study is expected to provide a paper on which future electricity policies and plans will be formulated. Tarriffs which are mostly cost reflective are also going to be analyzed with recommendations proposed.
