ZESCO has disclosed that the new Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA) that the company initialed with the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) will be made public once it is approved and signed off.
ZESCO Corporate Affairs Manager Dr. John Kunda said the agreement is currently being reviewed by the Attorney General and will need to be approved by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) before it is signed and made public.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Dr. Kunda said he could not state when the agreement would be approved as that is also dependent on the Attorney General’s office and the regulator ERB.
“That agreement goes to the Attorney General – AG for review and ERB for approval, that’s when we will have access, initialing is basically indicating that we are on a path to agreeing, as the two companies we agree but then it has to go through the necessary reviews and approvals. It is in the hands of the regulator and AG’s office”, he said.
But there are concerns that have been raised that ZESCO may be forced to sign off an agreement that is in the favor of CEC after revelations that the previous agreement which expired had disadvantaged the power utility. The concerns are that the current ERB Board of Directors new Chairman, Reynolds Bowa may have interest in CEC as he previously served as CEC board board member and vice Chairman.
ZESCO confirmed that they have successfully completed negotiations for a new BSA with CEC. The new BSA underpins arrangements for power supply and provision of transmission services between the two companies.
The new BSA will replace the old BSA that expired on 31 March 2020 and was not renewed after the previous management and board which have now been replaced following the change of government accused CEC of having enjoyed undue advantage.
CEC has committed to opening a new chapter of a new mutually beneficial relationship with ZESCO. The two companies are confident that the strong interconnection that exists between their power networks, coupled with the need to closely coordinate operationally will continue to be the cornerstone of their ongoing efforts to foster a cordial, transparent and commercially sound business relationship going forward.
