Zambia: Government Reaffirms Commitment to Universal Energy Access by 2030

The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving universal energy access by 2030, with strategic investments in electricity generation, policy reforms and expanded off-grid solutions expected to accelerate access to power across the country.

Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary-Electricity, Eng. Arnold Simwaba, said access to energy was essential to economic transformation, job creation and improved living standards.

Speaking when he officially opened the 2026 Policy Dialogue Meeting on the Population and Energy Nexus today, Eng Simwaba said the Government was pursuing reforms and strategic investments in electricity generation alongside the expansion of off-grid solutions to extend access in urban, peri-urban and rural communities.

He said the ultimate goal was to ensure that all households, schools, health facilities and other public institutions had access to electricity to support education, healthcare, public service delivery and economic productivity.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Country Representative Seth Broekman emphasised the need for demographic intelligence to inform energy policy and planning.

Mr Broekman said recent reviews had highlighted the need to strengthen the integration of population data into energy planning and improve population data management to ensure that investments responded to the needs of communities.

Eng Simwaba stressed that population dynamics must inform energy policy and infrastructure planning to ensure electricity supply responds to changing demand and reaches underserved communities.

He said achieving universal energy access required sustained efforts to ensure that energy services were reliable, clean and affordable, while supporting the country’s broader development aspirations.

The Government’s energy ambitions under the Grow Zambia Agenda also include increasing national electricity generation capacity to 10,000 megawatts by 2031 to support economic transformation and growing demand for power.