In order to overcome its worst electricity crisis ever, Zambia has increased power tariffs for mining companies. Obtaining the information from sources which desired not to be identified, Bloomberg revealed that the new tariff, applied on January 1, 2016, is 10.35 cents a kilowatt hour.

British firm Vedanta Resources announced last Friday that charges of its Zambian unit increased 25%, thus raising its monthly cost by $3 million. Power deficit, paired with weak copper price led to the closure of various mines and sacking of thousands of miners. Few days ago, the chamber of mines said other mines could be closed as a result of the severe crisis.

“The government’s attempt to pass through some of the higher cost of power to miners will prompt further threats of job cuts, especially from high cost producers like Vedanta’s Konkola copper mines,” said Clare Allenson, an analyst from Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm.

Gwladys Johnson