Lusaka - Zambia has started rationing power supply to mines, an industry source said on Tuesday, as Africa's second-biggest copper producer struggles to meet electricity demand.
“They have given us a schedule indicating how much electricity they will supply to us at different times of the day due to the power shortage,” the source, who declined to be identified, said.
“The idea is to see how we can manage with the limited power to ensure safety and uninterrupted operations.”
Zambia said in May it had cut its power generation by 300 megawatts (MW) after water levels in the Kariba dam, and other sources of hydro power, fell after a prolonged drought.
Last week, state-owned power company Zesco Ltd said it was increasing the rationing of electricity for all its customers, including mining companies due to a power deficit of 560 MW.
Analysts said the electricity rationing was also putting pressure on the kwacha currency due to reduced revenues from mining companies and other producers.
“The expectation is that the country's mining and other industrial production will go down because of these increased power blackouts,” BancABC head of treasury John Mapiye said.
Some of the foreign mining companies in Zambia include Glencore, Barrick Gold, Vedanta Resources and Canada's First Quantum Minerals.
Zambia's copper production dropped to 708 000 tons in 2014 from 760 000 tons in 2013.
Reuters