ZESCO Limited (ZESCO), Zambia’s electricity utility, has launched a tender process to construct a 330 KV transmission line from Kabwe step-down substation, which will reduce the initial voltage within the adequate range to be transmitted, to Pensulo substation in Serenje, Zambia Central Province.
The project includes a double set of bars where power will be concentrated and a 330 KV line bay including control and metering systems at the Kabwe step-down substation.
In addition, the project’s scope includes the construction of a 300 Km single-circuit 330 KV transmission line from Kabwe to Pensulo substation, where staff’s houses will be also built.
With this, ZESCO seeks to boost electricity transmission by increasing power transfer capacity and providing security supply to Muchinga and Luapula provinces in the eastern and northern regions of the country.
In Zambia, electricity generation is dominated by hydro-generators which account for more than 95% of the total capacity installed in the country currently at 2,396 MW as of December, 2014 according to the Zambian Energy Regulation Board (ERB).
The project is a response to the recent increase in demand for electricity which raised the total country’s generation from 13,299 GWh in 2013, to 14,453 GWh in 2014, an increase of 8.7%.
