Rooftop Solar, Solar Geysers and LPG GAS: Viable Strategic Options for Zambian Households to Attain Energy Security & Efficiency

Africa's second-largest copper producer, Zambia is grappling with the worst energy crisis in history. The El-Nino-propelled drought has severely impacted key socio-economic sectors, the hardest hit being hydroelectricity generation, water supply, and agriculture.

Since 27th August 2024, Lusaka dwellers have been living in darkness, only receiving a maximum of 4 hours of power supply daily. Other parts of the country are equally experiencing rolling blackouts lasting up to 17 hours daily.

In a country where citizens depend on electricity for cooking, heating, and lighting, the energy crisis has caused untold suffering, especially for urban dwellers. ZESCO Limited Board Chair Mr. Vickson Ncube has described the energy crisis as humiliating.

Hydropower accounts for more than 80% of electricity supplied in the country, while coal and solar account for 8% and 5% respectively. Overreliance on drought-prone hydropower exposes the country to significant climate risks.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for households, businesses, and the entire country to explore alternative energy sources. Rooftop solar, solar geysers and LPG gas offer great strategic options for Zambian households to attain energy security, efficiency, and cost savings.

Genesis

Most Zambian urban dwellers depend on electricity for cooking, heating, and lighting. Rural dwellers depend on charcoal and firewood. Electric stoves, electric water heaters, and electric air conditioners are commonplace in big city homes in Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, and Livingstone.

The penetration of more energy-efficient alternatives such as rooftop solar, solar geysers, and LGP gas remains low. This puts severe strain on the national electricity grid, especially during times of energy crises. It also exposes the country to further climate risks through deforestation as many citizens resort to charcoal during times of drought-induced blackouts.

During the 2023/24 rain season, Zambia experienced a severe drought, the worst in 4 decades. This adversely impacted hydropower generation and food security.

On 29th February 2024, Republican President, His Excellency Mr. Hakainde Hichilema declared the drought a national disaster and emergency.

“Today, with a heavy heart, we address you, as our beloved country faces a severe drought, the worst of its kind, caused by the El Ni?o weather conditions in the 2023/2024 rain season and influenced by the climate change phenomenon,” ~Hakainde Hichilema

Since then, water levels in Zambia's largest reservoir, the Kariba Dam have been depleting fast. This has led to the national power utility, ZESCO Limited making a painful decision to shut down the Kariba Northbank Power Plant effective September 2024.

Water levels at Itezhi Tezhi dam are also dwindling fast, impairing power generation at Kafue Gorge Upper and the newly commissioned 750MW Kafue Gorge Lower Hydropower plant.

The national power utility, ZESCO announced that beginning 1st September 2024, the load-shedding situation will worsen, with households expected to experience up to 17 hours of load shedding per day.

In Lusaka, blackouts are now lasting up to 20 hours daily. The deterioration in the state of affairs in September has been attributed to routine maintenance works at Maamba Energy Ltd, a 300MW coal-fired power plant. Also, power transfer constraints on the southern circuit via Namibia have impacted power imports negatively, resulting in a loss of 100MW from power imports.

Arising from this, ZESCO is experiencing severe system overload every time the power supply is restored. This is because customers rush to turn on their high-power-consuming appliances and equipment (geysers, cookers, aircon, water pumps, welding machines, etc.) when the supply is restored.

This puts severe strain on the fragile network, resulting in faults. System overload results in additional load-shedding hours as ZESCO has to safeguard its assets and maintain grid stability.

In a statement released on 31 August 2024, ZESCO Spokesperson Matongo Maumbi urged consumers to optimize energy consumption and seek alternative power sources.

As an energy expert, I believe this call for citizens to seek alternative power sources is welcome. However, it should not just be a stopgap measure to be employed during this period of the energy crisis. It must form part of Zambia's long-term strategy to ensure energy security and efficiency.

Policymakers, regulators, and citizens must all use this opportunity to seriously rethink energy in Zambia. Energy is not just hydroelectricity. Energy is not just petroleum. There are other good and cheaper alternatives. As such, ZESCO's call must be pursued aggressively. Citizens must respond positively. The time to act is now!

To achieve this, there is a need for both energy policy and regulation to align. Aggressively developing and implementing policies that promote the use of alternative, more energy-efficient alternatives such as solar geysers, LPG Gas, and rooftop solar will not only save the grid from total collapse but will also enhance the country's quest to attain energy security.

Rooftop Solar

Rooftop Solar refers to solar panels placed on top of roofs be it residential, commercial, or institutional buildings. The solar panels capture light energy emitted by the sun and convert it into electrical energy.

This setup is also known as the Solar Rooftop Photo-Voltaic System. Rooftop Solar offers excellent opportunities for diversifying away from ZESCO power. The only downside is high investment costs.

Parts of a rooftop solar installation include (I). Inverter, (ii). Solar panels (iii). lithium batteries (iv). Installation kit (v). Installation charge. The most expensive component is lithium batteries.

Net Metering Approved

On 5th July 2024, Zambia published a Government Gazette and signed into law the Electricity (Net Metering) Regulations. The Regulations are meant to enable Distribution Network Service Providers such as ZESCO, to offer a net metering programme to its consumers.

On 30th August 2024, the Energy Regulation Board approved the Net Metering and Connection fees to enable the public to participate as producers and consumers (prosumers) of electricity on the national grid and support the country's solar explosion.

The ERB has pegged the Net Metering tariff at K1.59/kWh while the Distribution Use-of-System (UoS) Charge shall not exceed ZMW 0.39/kWh.

This move is highly commendable as it will encourage enhanced investment in energy by both the private sector and individual households.

However, the tariffs will apply until 31st December 2024, at which point the ERB will review the matter and determine the applicable tariff thereafter. The short duration of the applicable tariff raises uncertainty among investors.

In a statement made on 3rd September 2023, solar Industry Association of Zambia President Matanda Mwewa urged the ERB to implement a predictable Net Metering Tariff. He stated that uncertainty regarding future net metering tariff structures could create hesitation among potential investors who are unsure about long-term returns on their solar investments.

Despite the government of Zambia removing import duty and taxes on solar products and equipment, a survey by the writer shows that costs still remain high and inhibiting for many.

Retailers have taken advantage of the high demand to increase prices. The Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) should take a keen interest in this development if the government and ZESCO's call for citizens to explore alternative energy sources is to yield any meaningful results.

Solar Geysers

An investment in a solar geyser is a strategic investment. It guarantees households access to hot water even during times of load-shedding. It also results in reduced energy costs. All you need is the initial capital outlay. Maintenance costs are negligible.

The Zambian government must set clear targets for phasing out electric geysers by:

1. Increasing import taxes on electric geysers.
2. Removing import duty on solar geysers and providing incentives for local manufacturers of solar geysers.
3. Set clear dates for completely phasing out electric geysers.

A solar geyser can save up to 90 percent of a household's water heating costs. There are also many savings on ongoing costs as the solar geyser does not require a mains connection and reduces your ZESCO electricity bill.

LPG Gas

According to the USAID Alternatives to Charcoal Project, over 75% of Zambian households predominantly depend on charcoal for cooking. More affluent city dwellers use a combination of both electric stoves and charcoal.

The demand for charcoal is rising exponentially, especially during this period of load-shedding, propelling an increase of charcoal production in rural areas and over-exploitation of Zambia’s highly biodiverse forests, threatening their rich biodiversity

This is despite LPG gas being more efficient, and cheaper. Penetration of gas stoves remains very low, and the supply of LPG gas has until recently been very scarce. This has resulted in many Zambians not taking advantage of the greatest energy savings. On average, an electric stove uses 3 times more energy compared to a gas stove. According to the California Energy Commission, a gas stove will cost you less than half as much to operate (provided that you have an electronic ignition-not a pilot light ).

Gas cooking therefore makes a strong case for cost saving, energy efficiency, fighting deforestation, and reducing strain on the national electricity grid.

The Zambian government must remove all bottlenecks in the LPG gas supply chain and must set clear targets for phasing out electric stoves. In Kenya, 95% of cooking is done using gas stoves. Zambia must use the current electricity crisis as an opportunity to drive the strategic shift from electric cookers to gas cookers.

Key strategies to achieve this include:

1. Build a gas pipeline: from Dar es Salaam to Copperbelt: Until 2021, Zambia used to produce LPG Gas at the Indeni Oil Refinery using feedstock from crude oil. But this is no longer the case. In 2021, the New Dawn Government instituted energy reforms. As part of the reforms, petrol, Jet A1, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Kerosene and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) were all to be transported via road from Dar es Salaam. The TAZAM Pipeline now only transports finished products (Low Sulphur Diesel. If the country is to realize the full benefits of LPG gas, it must consider constructing a gas pipeline from Tanzania to Zambia. This is a long-term, strategic option.
2. Regulate LPG gas retail prices: Just like the petroleum products is regulated by the ERB, the regulator must consider having a uniform retail prive per KG for LPG gas. This will make the product more affordable for many households and will increase penetration of the product in Zambia's rural areas. Currently, LPG gas is mostly common in selected urban centers.
3. Make LPG Gas cylinders exchangeable at all outlets: At present, there is a limit as to which cylinders a gas dealer can refill. This makes looking for gas a nightmare. One has to go to a specific dealer to refill their cylinder.

Conclusion:

As Zambia grapples with unprecedented load-shedding, there is an urgent need for the country to diversify its power generation sources from drought-prone hydropower. Viable alternatives including solar and coal exist.

But over and above diversifying the power generation mix, there is an urgent need for citizens to explore alternative energy sources for cooking, lighting, and heating at the household level.

Rooftop Solar is a viable alternative for lighting and powering essential equipment such as fridges and electronics given that the government has removed all import duties and taxes on solar equipment and products.

Further, ZESCO has commenced implementation of the Net Metering program following the approval of the net metering tariff by the ERB.

Customers who cannot afford rooftop solar due to high initial investment costs must consider buying Solar Home Systems (SHS) which are cheaper and available on Pay As You Go (PAYGO).

Additionally, LPG gas offers excellent opportunities for saving energy, saving costs, and ensuring energy security at the household level. Zambian households must consider replacing their electric cookers with LPG gas cookers.

To achieve this, policymakers must also develop strategic policies to phase out the use of electric cookers and promote the development of innovative products that provide better alternatives to charcoal.

Regulation of gas retail prices (uniform national price per Kg), and removal of bottlenecks around restricted access (limited to specific dealers) is a must.

Ultimately, rooftop solar, solar geysers, and LPG gas are viable strategic options for Zambian households to attain energy security & efficiency, especially during these unprecedented times of drought and climate change.

The pursuit of these strategies will significantly contribute to the country's attainment of Vision2030 and Sustainable Development Goals.

The author is a Renewable Energy and Climate Finance Expert. He holds a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Development Finance (Majoring in Environmental Finance) from Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa. He is currently pursuing the Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance (CESFi) program at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany. Email: [email protected]; Mobile: +260 977261474

References

Electric Vs. Gas Stove: Which One is Really More Efficient?

ERB - Net Metering Tariff and Connection Fees Approved

Government places Indeni on Care and Maintenance

Solar Geyser or Heat Pump - Pros and Cons

We Need Predictable Net Metering Tariffs - Solar Industry Association of Zambia