ZAMBIA has expressed its gratitude to Tanzania for providing essential electricity during its ongoing energy crisis.

Speaking at the opening of the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Zambian Minister for Finance and National Planning, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, highlighted the importance of regional cooperation in addressing energy challenges.

“For years, we believed we had more than enough electricity in Zambia and even exported power to other countries. But now, the situation has changed,” Dr Musokotwane said.

He said that Zambia currently imports approximately 300 megawatts of electricity from Tanzania through the Zambia-Tanzania Interconnector Project (ZTIP). The initiative, facilitated by a newly constructed transmission line connecting the two nations, has been instrumental in mitigating Zambia's acute power shortages.

The ZTIP is a major component of the World Bank’s Regional Energy Transmission, Trade, and Decarbonization-Southern Africa-Multiphase Programmatic Approach (RETRADE-SA MPA). 

The programme seeks to enhance regional energy trade, strengthen climate resilience, and promote low-carbon development within the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

Dr Musokotwane attributed Zambia’s current energy crisis to rising electricity demand driven by increased copper production and severe droughts over the past two years, which have reduced the country’s power generation capacity by nearly 50 percent.

To address this, Zambia pursues public-private partnerships (PPPs) to expand power production and is inviting investors to explore opportunities in its energy sector.

He also emphasized the importance of Mission 300, a partnership involving the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank Group, and global stakeholders, to bridge Africa’s electricity access gap.

Currently, nearly 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, posing a significant barrier to development and job creation.

The two-day summit has attracted several African heads of state and government, along with over 1,000 delegates, including prominent private sector representatives. Together, they aim to develop strategies for achieving universal energy access across Africa.

The summit is expected to yield two major outcomes: the Dar es Salaam Energy Declaration and National Energy Compacts. The declaration will outline commitments and actionable reforms from African governments to transform the energy sector. Meanwhile, the compacts will see 12 countries—Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia—present detailed blueprints with specific targets and timelines for energy sector reforms. Other nations will follow in subsequent phases.

The collaborative efforts underscore Africa’s determination to overcome its energy challenges. As nations like Zambia and Tanzania demonstrate the potential of regional cooperation, the continent’s journey toward energy security and sustainable growth gains renewed momentum.