Zambia

Getting Electricity in

Zambia

Below is a detailed summary of the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building in Zambia.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

Compare Zambia to 185 other economies.

  • Standardized Company

  • Name of Utility: Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Ltd. (ZESCO)
  • City: Lusaka

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application with Zesco Limited and await estimate

An application cannot be submitted online. The customer has to visit any Customer Service Center or Zesco office and collect two forms namely the Customer Application form and the Supply Inquiry form. There are no costs. A map highlighting the location of the premise needs to be attached. There is a security deposit which is returned at the termination of the connection. The security deposit is determined by the amount of power and tariff of the category the connection falls into.
Agency: Zesco Limited 		7 calendar days ZMK 9,363,251.1
* 2 Zesco Limited carries out external inspection

An external inspection is necessary to prepare an estimate. The customer can be present during the inspection, but it is not necessary.
Agency: Zesco Limited 		5 calendar days no charge
3 The client has to obtain the excavation permit from the Lusaka City Council for the underground connection

The customer has to obtain the excavation permit at the Lusaka City Council for the underground connection. The utility however facilitates the process as Zesco is more familiar with the procedures of dealing with excavation permits than the clients.
Agency: Lusaka City Council 		14 calendar days ZMK 6,000,000.0
4 Accept estimate and await completion of external connection works by Zesco Limited

Zesco is in charge of the external connection works. After the quotation has been paid, the customer has to wait before the external connection works start. The time is needed for material mobilization and other necessary preparation. All the material is provided by Zesco.
Agency: Zesco Limited 		95 calendar days ZMK 55,300,000.0
* 5 Zesco Limited carries out internal inspection

An internal inspection is necessary to assess if the internal wiring is conform to Zesco standards. If the wiring is not conforming to Zesco standards, then Zesco will issue a certificate to “fail” the wiring. The electrician in charge of the internal wiring does not have to be licensed and/or registered with Zesco. The electrical contractor should be present and in case something is wrong, they can be told to rectify and retest. The internal inspection is a necessary condition for opening the meter. Once the team verified that your internal wiring is correctly done they pass over the documents to the team in charge of meter installation.
Agency: Zesco Limited 		1 calendar day no charge
6 Zesco Limited installs the meter and does the final connection

The meter gets installed after the connection has been done. Zesco will call the customer to verify that he and his electrician are on the site and they will come and install the meter. The installation is done by the metering department. The cost of the meter is included in the estimate.
Agency: Zesco Limited 		1 calendar day no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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