After reducing ZESCO’s debt from more than US$1.7 billion to under US$400 million in less than three years, Victor Mapani will soon bid farewell to the national power utility, leaving it in a better financial position than he found it.
ZESCO Limited Managing Director Victor Mapani has taken leave pending the end of his contract in December, the utility’s board chairman has confirmed.
Mapani was appointed to head ZESCO on a three-year tenure starting 2 December 2021. He has presided over a technically bankrupt utility saddled with huge debt running into billions of dollars. The last third of his tenure has been particularly difficult, with many consumers baying for his blood as they experienced load shedding like never before.
This was ultimately his undoing, despite scoring several successes. While many people understood that load rationing was an inevitable consequence of the drought-induced crisis, ZESCO—hence, Mapani—has not been forgiven what they consider a gross failure to prepare for and manage the crisis, especially the dismal inability to stick to load shedding schedules.
Despite this blemish, Mapani has left ZESCO in a better place financially than he found it, as he focused on cleaning up the books to make ZESCO bankable and enable it to attract financing for projects and other investments👇
• Reduced the debt to independent power producers (IPPs) from US$1.7 billion to under US$400 million
• Renegotiated IPP contracts to achieve better terms for ZESCO, including the tariffs at which it bought the power from these producers
• Signed more power purchase agreements (PPAs)—including converting certain high-consuming industrial and commercial customers who were previously not on PPAs—than any other time
• Initiated several solar power projects with local and foreign investors
• Presided over the approval of Zambia’s first-ever multi-year tariff framework, which ensures predictable tariff progression
• Reduced the cost of the Chama-Lundazi grid connection project from US$69 million to US$30 million
• Unlocked the completion of the Kafue Gorge Lower project leading to its full commissioning
• Stopped ZESCO employees enjoying free or highly subsidized electricity. All ZESCO staff now pay for power at the same rate as other consumers
• Reduced the new customer connection backlog and wait time from literal years to days
• Enabled open access to be practically operationalized with more private power traders now active on the market than before
• Found innovative ways to finance operations, including by working with private power traders to prepay for power imports and bank electricity
