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Regions / Southern Africa

Zambia

Southern Africa · SADC · COMESA

Limited coverage: 4 draft records, in Regional power trade. This is not a full account of Zambia's policy; each area says what was read.

Where Zambia's reforms stand

Four tracks per reform. The date is the milestone each status rests on.

IdeaLegalRulesDeliveryFunding
ZiZaBoNa interconnectorNot tracked–Not tracked–Unknown · target 2026Unknown
Open access to the networksIn force · 2024Consulted · Aug 2025Partly operating · 2025Not applicable

Next dated steps

A target is what a named source says will happen, not a forecast made here.

Steps taken

What depends on neighbours

Blockers linked to a recorded dependency between Zambia and another jurisdiction.

Zimbabwe · Zambia

Central-corridor transmission limits leave matched energy untraded

Expected to be relieved by ZiZaBoNa interconnector, in the view of Southern African Power Pool.

Effect on trade: not established
Namibia · South Africa · Zambia

Outages on transit routes affect trade between other countries

No source read proposes a remedy.

Effect on trade: not established

Shared with neighbours

Blockers that name Zambia and another jurisdiction, with no recorded dependency between them. A shared stage is not a shared cause.

South Africa · Zambia

Consultation is the last verified step for operating rules in both new markets

Adoption of the instruments themselves would close this; no adoption date is documented.

Effect on trade: not established

Institutions named in the records

Constraints observed

Zambia on the map of AfricaAngolaBurundiBeninBurkina FasoBotswanaCentral African RepublicCôte d'IvoireCameroonDemocratic Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoComorosCabo VerdeDjiboutiAlgeriaEgyptEritreaEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaThe GambiaGuinea-BissauEquatorial GuineaKenyaLiberiaLibyaLesothoMoroccoMadagascarMaliMozambiqueMauritaniaMauritiusMalawiNamibiaNigerNigeriaRwandaSudanSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth SudanSão Tomé and PríncipeEswatiniSeychellesChadTogoTunisiaTanzaniaUgandaSouth AfricaZambiaZimbabweWestern Sahara
Context, not evidence

Electricity in Zambia, 2000 to 2024

In 2024, generation in Zambia was 20 TWh, 86% of it from hydro, against 7.7 TWh in 2000. Installed capacity was 3.9 GW. No record or status on this site rests on these figures.

Generation by sourceTWh
05.0101520200020102024Hydro 17Coal 2.12000: Coal 0.01, Gas and other fossil 0.03, Hydro 7.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 7.7 TWh2001: Coal 0.01, Gas and other fossil 0.04, Hydro 7.9, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 7.9 TWh2002: Coal 0.02, Gas and other fossil 0.04, Hydro 8.1, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 8.2 TWh2003: Coal 0.02, Gas and other fossil 0.04, Hydro 8.3, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 8.3 TWh2004: Coal 0.01, Gas and other fossil 0.04, Hydro 8.5, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 8.5 TWh2005: Coal 0.02, Gas and other fossil 0.04, Hydro 8.9, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 8.9 TWh2006: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 9.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 9.7 TWh2007: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 9.6, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 9.6 TWh2008: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 9.5, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 9.5 TWh2009: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 9.9, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 9.9 TWh2010: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 10, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 10 TWh2011: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 11, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 11 TWh2012: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.02, Hydro 12, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 12 TWh2013: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.02, Hydro 13, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0; total 13 TWh2014: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.41, Hydro 14, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.07; total 15 TWh2015: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.40, Hydro 13, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.07; total 14 TWh2016: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.34, Hydro 11, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 12 TWh2017: Coal 1.3, Gas and other fossil 0.71, Hydro 12, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 15 TWh2018: Coal 2.0, Gas and other fossil 0.46, Hydro 14, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.07; total 16 TWh2019: Coal 1.7, Gas and other fossil 0.60, Hydro 12, Wind and solar 0.12, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.07; total 15 TWh2020: Coal 1.9, Gas and other fossil 0.32, Hydro 13, Wind and solar 0.15, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 15 TWh2021: Coal 1.3, Gas and other fossil 0.12, Hydro 16, Wind and solar 0.15, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 18 TWh2022: Coal 2.2, Gas and other fossil 0, Hydro 17, Wind and solar 0.14, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 19 TWh2023: Coal 2.1, Gas and other fossil 0.01, Hydro 17, Wind and solar 0.15, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 19 TWh2024: Coal 2.1, Gas and other fossil 0.34, Hydro 17, Wind and solar 0.17, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.08; total 20 TWh
Installed capacity by sourceGW
01.02.03.04.05.0200020102024Wind and solar 0.19Hydro 3.2Gas and other fossil 0.21Coal 0.332000: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.8, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.9 GW2001: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.8, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.9 GW2002: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.8, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.9 GW2003: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.8 GW2004: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.8 GW2005: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.8 GW2006: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.8 GW2007: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.01; total 1.8 GW2008: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 1.8 GW2009: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.7, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 1.8 GW2010: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.9, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.0 GW2011: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.9, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.0 GW2012: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.09, Hydro 1.9, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.0 GW2013: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.07, Hydro 2.3, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.4 GW2014: Coal 0, Gas and other fossil 0.14, Hydro 2.3, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.4 GW2015: Coal 0.03, Gas and other fossil 0.14, Hydro 2.3, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.5 GW2016: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.14, Hydro 2.4, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 2.9 GW2017: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.20, Hydro 2.4, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.0 GW2018: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.19, Hydro 2.4, Wind and solar 0, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.0 GW2019: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.19, Hydro 2.4, Wind and solar 0.09, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.0 GW2020: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.19, Hydro 2.4, Wind and solar 0.09, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.0 GW2021: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.19, Hydro 2.7, Wind and solar 0.09, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.4 GW2022: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.19, Hydro 3.2, Wind and solar 0.10, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.8 GW2023: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.19, Hydro 3.2, Wind and solar 0.13, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.9 GW2024: Coal 0.33, Gas and other fossil 0.21, Hydro 3.2, Wind and solar 0.19, Bioenergy and other renewables 0.04; total 3.9 GW
CoalGas and other fossilHydroWind and solarBioenergy and other renewables

What this does not establish. Generation is counted where the electricity is produced. Imports and exports are not shown, so a country's generation is not the electricity its economy uses. Ember's figures are not reconciled with the figures in the records, which come from national sources with their own definitions and periods. Generation and capacity are different quantities and are drawn as separate charts.

Source: Ember, Yearly electricity data (full release), read 2026-10-25, licensed CC BY 4.0. Fuels grouped here; copied from laurencehw/african-economic-future, _data/ember/ at commit cf0853a (26 October 2026), unchanged.

The figures, every five years
200020052010201520202024
Generation (TWh)
Coal0.010.02001.92.1
Gas and other fossil0.030.040.010.400.320.34
Hydro7.78.910131317
Wind and solar00000.150.17
Bioenergy and other renewables0000.070.080.08
Total7.78.910141520
Capacity (GW)
Coal0000.030.330.33
Gas and other fossil0.090.090.090.140.190.21
Hydro1.81.71.92.32.43.2
Wind and solar00000.090.19
Bioenergy and other renewables0.010.010.040.040.040.04
Total1.91.82.02.53.03.9