VZCZCXRO9172
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #0319/01 0791303
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191303Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5588
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR AF/S M.SHIELDS 
FOR AF/EPS E.REPKO 
FOR EEB/ESC 
USDOC FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA R.TELCHIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EIND EINV ENRG PGOV ZA
SUBJECT: U.S. Businesses' Views on Zambia's Power Problems 
 
Refs: A) Lusaka 302; B) Lusaka 91 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  At a recent American business roundtable 
gathering hosted by Ambassador Martinez, U.S. investors and local 
representatives of U.S. companies shared opinions and voiced 
frustrations over the electric power situation in the country. 
Overall, and not surprisingly, businesses are angry and disappointed 
with the parastatal ZESCO, and do not see any prospects for 
improvements.  Some are taking steps to increase captive power 
generating capacity, while others are trying to use political 
influence to receive special treatment from the government and from 
ZESCO.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) At a March 5 gathering of a group of U.S. investors and 
representatives and agents of U.S. companies, Ambassador Martinez 
asked the assembled businesspersons how the electrical power 
situation, particularly outages, have affected their operations. 
One small investor who sells and services a wide range of IT, 
electrical, and other equipment, reported a tremendous rise in 
demand for uninterrupted power supply units and for generators.  He 
said that his generator orders cannot even get onto waiting lists of 
South African suppliers for at least fourteen weeks, so he is 
looking to source generators from China, other Asian countries, 
Europe, and the United States.  He suggested that companies might 
want to consider switching to solar generation. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Managing Director of Citibank raised his broader 
concern about the negative impact that the power cuts will have on 
Zambian businesses, and their ability to stay afloat financially. 
He also observed that, in addition to generating finance from higher 
electricity rates, ZESCO could consider a number of other financing 
options to fund new power projects. 
 
Consensus on ZESCO's Poor Handling of Problems 
 
¶4. (SBU) The roundtable attendees agreed that parastatal electricity 
supplier ZESCO is not confronting the problem with the degree of 
urgency it requires, nor is ZESCO effectively expressing the scale 
of the problem.   As a result, many Zambian consumers, including in 
the private sector, have the sense that the problems are temporary 
and will be sorted out soon, but the reality is much grimmer.  Many 
participants observed that industrial demand, led by new copper 
mines and smelters, will increase rapidly in the next year or two, 
and supply cannot keep pace.  They expect serious shortages for the 
next several years.  Some who had attended a recent meeting with the 
Managing Director of ZESCO reported that when business leaders asked 
ZESCO how it was planning to respond to the crisis, the MD turned 
the question back on them, asking "what are YOU going to do about 
this?"  Such a reaction does not inspire confidence, the 
representatives stated. 
 
Indeni's Troubles Worsen Prospects 
 
¶5. (SBU) The group agreed that as more and more businesses buy and 
run generators, demand for diesel fuel, which is already quite 
expensive, will rise.  In the past, the government-owned refinery 
Indeni has had problems of its own, resulting in periodic fuel 
shortages.  The government has recently run into difficulties and 
controversy over procurements of oil and financing of its oil 
purchases (Ref A), and as far as the business community understands, 
it has not finalized a long-term payment structure for oil 
purchases, meaning that future shipments might be interrupted, 
leading to shortages.  Some of the representatives indicated that 
they had approached the GRZ to request that it consider removing 
duties and taxes on diesel fuel, in the interest of enabling more 
cost-efficient use of generators. 
 
Challenges to Copper Fabrication, Grain Milling 
 
¶6. (SBU) The CEO of Luanshya-based metal fabricator, ZAMEFA, owned 
by Phelps Dodge/General Cable, told the gathering that his company's 
current power backup capacity on-site is 1.5 MW, but this is not 
enough to maintain full-fledged operations for a sustained period. 
Abrupt power stoppages are particularly problematic for continuous 
casting operations at the factory, although production of wire is 
not ruined by interruptions.  ZAMEFA will expand captive power 
generating capacity at its facility, bringing the total to 4.5 MW. 
He also noted that when the power from ZESCO is working, it 
fluctuates wildly, which places tremendous stress on, and sometimes 
destroys, many types of equipment.  As a result, ZAMEFA is also 
buying more equipment to regulate the voltage and minimize stress on 
metal fabrication equipment.  The CEO raised one possible positive 
outcome from the region-wide power shortages: he thinks his 
operations are less adversely affected than those of his competitors 
in South Africa, and as a result, ZAMEFA might gain a competitive 
 
LUSAKA 00000319  002 OF 002 
 
 
advantage and sell more in South Africa. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Managing Director of National Milling Corporation (NMC, 
owned by U.S. agribusiness company Seaboard Corporation) complained 
that ZESCO's load shedding is erratic and does not distinguish 
between industrial and residential users.  Advance planning by ZESCO 
that enabled industrial operations to stop on a given day would be 
far more helpful for NMC.  The MD said that the mill runs seven days 
a week, 24 hours a day, but ZESCO does not appreciate the needs of 
the company, Zambia's largest miller.  He is now working with ZESCO 
to try to coordinate NMC's scaled-back operations with planned power 
cuts. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: Although Zambian residential electricity users 
believe that businesses are getting "special treatment," the 
business-industrial sector is also suffering from power cuts.  The 
situation is likely to worsen, as ZESCO appears unable and/or 
unwilling to confront the problem. 
MARTINEZ