Energy Minister Mathew Nkhuwa says Maamba Collieries is now feeding 135 megawatts of power into the national grid.
Mr Nkhuwa said one of the two generators that had broken down at the 300 MW coal-fired power plant has been repaired with the second one expected to be fixed in the first week of January 2020.
He said this has reduced the power deficit from 810 megawatts to 675 megawatts.
Meanwhile Mr Nkhuwa said Zambia has continued to receive electricity from Eskom South Africa.
He said Eskom was unable to give the 300 megawatts of power as agreed due to power deficit in that country and will continue giving power until the money paid to them is exhausted.
Maamba Collieries in October said it needed ZESCO to clear outstanding debts owed to the company so it could maintain efficient operations at its 300 MW coal-fired power plant.
It said due to a continued shortfall in monthly payments of its power bills by ZESCO, the company had not been able to keep up a robust maintenance programme at its modern eco-friendly thermal power plant which has been contributing significantly to the energy balance of the country.
I will not go into details, these man thinks we all failed our English at grade 12….. I end here
***** This Man *****
Record breaking government, for the first time in Zambia history, festive period is been celebrated in darkness, Christmas no malaiti, its a first of its kind. Keep breaking them records Ba pf .
Failed PF regime. Mr. Hichilema please pack your bags now, destination statehouse. You are our only hope
If that euro bond and some Chinese loans had been invested in at least 3 more coal power plants like the maamba one, we could not have been talking about Eskimos, priorities bane, it like an individual getting a bank loan then he buys himself suits and shoes instead of investing in productive ventures.
We told you that the deal with Eskom was fake and that it was overpriced, but you PF cadres insulted us.
Enjoy Christmas in darkness.
Eskom was owed money from power supplied on credit some time back. They’re under no obligation to supply more power because of that. They hv just recovered wht was obviously a bad debt and their board of directors would lambast them for making an imprudent business decision. That’s hw it works and will continue working.
These man????. Where did you learn your english ?
These people are liars, it even more confusing reading the article. I mean what contract did you sign with ESKOM? If they cant supply you with power when you need it most simply ask for a refund and get the $27 million back. You can foool your dimwit PF cadres but you can’t foool everyone.
ZESCO Ltd in a memo on 30 October regretted to inform the general public that the outage period for the generator which was taken out at Maamba Collieries Limited (MCL) Power Station 12 days ago has been extended until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances encountered during repair works. During the period of the shutdown, generation at Maamba Collieries limited will remain at 50% of the dispatchable capacity which is 135 MW. My understanding is that Maamba has continued generating 135MW while waiting for this generator to be repaired. If this generator has now been repaired the total should be back to 270 MW but the minister is talking of another generator being repaired in January, I am confused.
This proves what most well meaning Zambians said; there was NO WELL INTENDED ESCOM DEAL BUT A SCHEME TO LOOT USING THE POWER CRISIS! How could have Escom sold us power it didn’t have and why prioritise paying for imports over power from Maamba? For PF,EVERY CRISIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOT AND FURTHER IMPOVERISH THE MASSES- and here it is!!
It is sad but very true.
We were very vocal in opposing this deal and pointed out that it smelt fishy.
We told you that load shedding would not improve and that someone was gaining massively from this fake transaction.
We do not criticise just for the sake of it. Lungu is running the country into the ground. He is a common thief. Show me a common thief that is competent at his or her job.
Very sad for our country.
A failed regime zoona
According to Lungu he has not failed,he will win in 2021,and he is available for 2026…what a president, presidency has only seen him get rich while the people suffer,and he does not care….anyway lwakwe….
They paid SA $27 million for electricity that hasn’t been supplied then defaulted on $1.4 million repayment to AfB. Anyone can see that they are simply taking money all over the place recklessly. They are unfit to be in those positions. I feel for the new AG and Finance Minister…they must be alcoholics by now working with irresponsible dullards.
Mery go round
No the GRZ should support local strategic industries like FRA, Milling Plants, Power Plants because such industries can bring a nation on it’s knees. In fact GRZ should ensure that they monitor what goes on in the so identified industries.
Even Baboons can run our country better!
Absolutely true.
At least Baboons look out for all the members in a troop…these thieves turn any tredgy or problem into an opportunity to line their pockets.
And someone is worried about Foote when they are stealing money left right and centre.
Dull Zambians can’t see the direct relationship between their voting behaviour and their economic performance!
You voted for idyots and pure convicted thieves like Lusambo, Edgar Lungu, Chitotela, Jean Katoto, Open Door Dora Slit Siliya, etc and expected the economy to thrive! Zambians are so dull! Anyway enjoy Dununwa Reverse for at least another 20 months until you can’t adjust your belts anymore.
Your Govt is full of criminals cos you don’t want decent people.
Mr Nkhuwa…why did you have to go to ESKOM instead of beefing up our local IPP in Maamba Collieries? ESKOM is currently in $ 50 million scandle and two directors have since been arrested. Zambia can to better by restructuring ZESCO as a company so that it can have cost reflective tariffs because ESKOM is by far a worse standard than the embattled ZESCO and it explains why they have failed to honour the contract to supply power to Zambia.
I think you Zambians are !diots here. Why do you depend on a foreign country for strategic resources like electricity? You claim to be educated but you still begging from other countries. No wonder you still arrest adults for their sexual preferences. Wake up and smell paraffin. Eskom doesn’t owe you anything.
That $27 million will disappear like the $30 million for creation of pointless airline. You will never find out if this power was ever supplied.
During the time of Mobutu, this used to happen. Mobutu asks the Minister of Finance for ONE million dollars, the Minister tells the Governor of the Bank of Zaire that the President wants TWO million dollars, then the Governor of the Banks withdraws THREE million dollars. Mobutu gets his ONE million dollars, BUT THREE million dollars has left the Banks. Can you all connect the dots…………?
Let Zambians now understand what Dununa Reverse feels like! How do you dance to a song whose meaning you don’t know?
We can only wish Zambians more of ECL in 2021, 2026 and 2031! Enjoy your miserable and wretched existence!
TRUTH IS IMPORTANT. A MINISTER TOLD US ON TELEVISION THAT MAAMBA COLLIERIES WAS UNDERGOING SOME REPAIRS THATS WHY THEY COULD NOT SUPPLY ELECTRICITY. BUT NOW WE ARE LEARNING THAT ITS BECAUSE ZESCO DID NOT SETTLE THEIR BILLS. PLEASE LETS TELL PEOPLE THE TRUTH. WE ARE VOTERS. ITS VERY IRRITATING TO BE TOLD LIES.
I am 100% PF, I am a true green, I mean well for my country, As PF we have lamentably failed the country. Exchange rate is zig zag, with a reason that we are exporting less, that’s why we are there as government to sort out this inbalance. Inflation is over 20%(the real figure), reserves are depleted, former finance minister said we are using reserves to pay debts. As for the power deficit, you came in power in 2011, eight years ago, you cant continue telling stories, Kafue lower bla bla bla, solar bla bla bla. Is there a country which can fail to payy 44 million dollars, that should be a very small amount for a country, even failing to pay ADB I million dollars. We must vacate now and give chance to our colleagues, if they fail they also vacate
Its very very irritating to suffer in darkness just because of these men who lie without shame. Just when are they ever going to tell us the truth. This boma is heavily infested with lies and greatly uncoordinated the way they even lie. But what is good news is that they all lie using different versions of the same lie. Fact free government!!!!!
Disaster!!!!
Planning is very important and contracts must be respected regardless of what comes along. Even foreign companies know PF kuwayaway fye and hence such rhetoric in this govt. These chaps are running the country like a Kantemba were nothing is planned and everything is unaccounted for. Now those who are eating cheese should start thinking carefully in preparation for 2021!
In an earlier article when the energy minister visited Maamba you wrote, “The energy minister said once repaired, power supply will be restored from the current 1-hundred and 50 megawatts to 3 hundred.” In this article you have written, “Mr Nkhuwa said one of the two generators that had broken down at the 300 MW coal-fired power plant has been repaired with the second one expected to be fixed in the first week of January 2020.” Surely if you said earlier that power supply will be restored from 150MW to 300MW once repaired and the machine has now been repaired how can you again say a second machine will be repaired in January.