As a part of its global partnership the World Bank has pledged approximately USD 5 million to support Zambia’s power utility company, Zesco Limited, in their mission to connect 22,000 low-income households to the country’s electrical grid.
According to Joseph Kapika, senior energy specialist for the World Bank, the program to connect low-income communities to the national grid is currently being finalized with Zesco and will likely begin in early 2015
Mr. Kapika went on to explain that, prior to this new partnership, the World Bank had also partnered with Zesco in the “Access to Electricity for All” program that successfully connected 55,000 customers to the national grid as of June 2014.
“We want to use the success of the previous program to connect 22,000 [households],” he said.
Current government figures estimate that just 23% of the Zambian populations have access to electricity and just 4.5% of the rural population using electricity.
The new program is projected to be completed within two years and will increase access to and the trade of electricity within Zambia and across the region.
