LOAD SHEDDING hours are expected to drop further in the coming weeks and would hopefully soon disappear altogether, Zesco Limited Spokesperson Henry Kapata has said in an interview.
Mr. Kapata, said that it was due to new capacity coming on line from Maamba Thermal Power Plant, had made it possible to reduce the load shedding hours.
“We are minimizing load shedding hours; we now have 150 megawatts of power from Maamba Thermal Power Plant coming online on June 30th, 2016. In the second phase, Maamba will evacuate (off-load) another 150 megawatts on the national grid bringing the total of new additional power to 300 megawatts that never existed on the grid before, he said.
Mr. Kapata added that as a result of the new power on the national grid, ZESCO will significantly reduce the number of hours that load shedding is currently being conducted to a low level.
Lusaka and the Copperbelt with the bulk of the power needs shall be the first to feel the positive effects of increased hours of power during prime business times, he said.