REA connects 47, 832 households and SMEs

The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) says 47, 832 connections have been made to households and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as of 30th May, 2022 under the Electricity Services Access Project (ESAP) that has been running since 2017.

ESAP is a five year credit facility project that was negotiated by the Zambian government with the World Bank and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to accelerate electricity access for rural areas in Zambia to be implemented between 2017 and 2022 at a cost of $33.5 million dollars.

REA Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Linus Chanda says 40, 731 connections are for households while 7, 101 are for SMEs, with a further 2, 500 customers awaiting to be connected after having already made payment to ZESCO Limited.

Speaking during a media engagement in Lusaka today, Engineer Chanda says while this development is a huge milestone in uplifting the livelihoods of the rural population, the Last Mile Connection Fee Subsidy Program under ESAP aimed at connecting 22,000 low income households and 1,000 SMEs to the national grid at a cost of $8 million will close by 15th June, 2022, STATING that the funds allocated to the sub-program are nearing depletion. 

He says from the remaining $198, 470 of the total $8 million for the Last Mile Connection Fee Subsidy Program, only 1, 200 new applications will be considered by ZESCO before the project closes.

Engineer Chanda has since disclosed that government has already started engaging the World Bank with a view of mobilising funds for a similar project in the near future.

And Engineer Chanda has disclosed that REA is working with the private sector to launch the Off-Grid Rural Electrification Smart Subsidy (OGRESS).