Renewable Energy Regulation

Electricity is generated from various energy sources which include; Solar, Hydro, Diesel Generators, Thermal and Waste to Energy among others. For whichever choice of energy source for electricity generation, the following are the steps to follow for setting up an electricity generation plant:

1. Assumption is that the company is registered with the relevant government agency within Zambia e.g. Patents and Companies Registration Agency, Registrar of Societies etc.;
2. The company should identify and acquire land where the proposed project will be undertaken;
3. Carry out feasibility study on the acquired land to determine suitability of the selected land for carrying out the proposed project;
4. The outcome of the feasibility study in 3 above will be an Environmental Project Brief (EPB) or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) depending on the scale of operations;
5. Submit the EPB/EIA to Zambia Environmental Management Agency (“ZEMA”) for review;
6. ZEMA will issue a decision letter as an outcome of the EPB/EIA review;
7. In the event that an Approval Decision Letter is issued by ZEMA, the company will be expected to apply for a Construction Permit from the Energy Regulation Board (“ERB”)by submitting the following requirements:
   • Approval decision letter issued by ZEMA;
   • Detailed site layout plans, engineering and structural drawings according to applicable regulations, Zambian National Standards, Guidelines or Orders issued by the Energy Regulation Board;
   • Approval by relevant Local Authority (or Traditional leader where applicable) for sitting of the energy facility;
   • Completed appendix showing the description and capacity of the energy facility;
   • Approval from the Road Development Agency or any other appropriate authority, where applicable;
   • Practicing certificate issued by the Engineering Institution of Zambia for the Registered Engineering Professional that will supervise the project;
   • Letter of appointment of the Registered Engineering Professional or brief contract between the Developer and the Engineering Professional to supervise the project;
   • Five years business plan showing the projected financial statements i.e. Cash flow, Profit and Loss, and the Balance sheet statements;
   • Declaration of availability of funds in Form II set out in the first schedule of SI No. 42 of 2021; and
   • Any other approval from an appropriate authority having jurisdiction in the area being proposed to be developed e.g. National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC)
8. The Energy Regulation Board may cause before consideration of the application for a Construction Permit conduct an assessment to ascertain the financial and technical capacity of the Applicant to carry out the activity among others;
9. Once the Construction Permit is issued, the Developer is advised to liaise with the ERB as the construction of the power plant progresses in order to build collaboration between parties. The Developer shall submit regular progress reports to the ERB as the construction and testing of installed equipment progresses;
10. The Developer shall apply for the Licence to Generate Electricity prior to commencing operations in a manner prescribed by the ERB;
11. A provisional licence that is valid for six (6) months will be issued once the licence application is processed and all the technical and financial requirements are met. During the validity of the provisional licence, the ERB shall further process the Licence application by gazetting at government printers for 14 days and seek Board approval prior to issuing the Standard Licence to Generate Electricity valid for 30 years.