Copperbelt Energy Plc. has expressed delight over Zambia’s Minister of Energy’s revocation of a statutory instrument that had declared parts of its network common carrier, according to a statement issued by the company to Lusaka Securities and Exchange.
“In accordance with Section 3.4(b) of the Lusaka Securities Exchange Listings Requirements (“LuSE Listings Requirements”), the Board of Directors of Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc (“CEC” or the “Company”) informs shareholders of the Company and the market that CEC has become aware of the issuance, on 29th December 2021, of Statutory Instrument No. 94 of 2021 (SI No. 94 of 2021), the Electricity (Common Carrier) (Declaration) (Revocation) Order , by the Minister of Energy, Honourable Peter Chibwe Kapala, MP”, read a statement issued by CEC’s Company Julia C Z Chaila on 18th January 2022.
According to the statement, “SI No. 94 of 2021 revokes Statutory Instrument No. 24 of 2021 (SI No. 24 of 2021), the Electricity (Common Carrier) (Declaration) Regulations, which declared CEC’s transmission and distribution lines as Common Carrier”.
On 29 May 2020, the then Minister of Energy issued statutory instrument No. 57 of 2020 declaring CEC transmission and distribution lines a common carrier to be used on such condition to be determined by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB). This decision was made pursuant to section 15 of the Electricity Act No. 11 of 2019.
The statement further indicated that “SI No. 24 of 2021 effectually re-declared CEC’s lines as Common Carrier following the quashing of SI No. 57 of 2020 by the High Court, after the successful Judicial Review application by the Company”.
This development has delighted the mining industry electricity supplier. “CEC is pleased with the development, which reinstates and protects the Company’s property and commercial rights to manage its assets and business, to negotiate the terms and conditions for the use of its infrastructure and to safeguard its contractual rights”. Furthermore, “the Company reiterates its commitment to working closely with all stakeholders in furtherance of the best interest of the electricity sector and the Zambian economy”.