Zambian energy business registers US$200m green bond, country's first
Zambian energy business registers US$200m green bond, country's first
Bond proceeds will support investment into renewable power generation, mainly solar and wind
DUBAI, UAE - Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) Plc, Zambia’s largest private power utility, has announced the registration of its US$200 million green bond on the sidelines of the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai. The green bond is Zambia’s first.
Announcing the news, CEO Owen Silavwe said that the bond will “accelerate the actualisation of our ambitions to generate at least 200MW of renewable energy, […] specifically solar energy, with possible storage implementation.”
In October last year, CEC incorporated a new subsidiary CEC Renewables Limited to drive the group’s development and integration of renewable energy, particularly in solar and wind. According to its 2022 annual report, it expects to bring online “more than 300MW in renewables” by 2027.
Last year, the company commissioned its first solar power plant, a US$22 million 34MW plant at Riverside in Kitwe, Zambia’s second largest city. It’s currently working on its next solar project, a 60MW solar power plant at Itimpi, also in Kitwe.
CEC buys most of its power from the Zambian state-owned utility ZESCO. It resells that power to various mines across the Copperbelt Province via a transmission network of over 1000 kilometres. ZESCO also leases CEC’s transmission lines to reach its customers on the Copperbelt.
CEC is an active regional power trader via the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP). It also owns power lines into the Democratic Republic of Congo, an important market for the company via a 50/50 joint venture with SNEL, the DRC’s state-owned utility.
CEC is one of the Lusaka Securities Exchange's most actively traded stocks. The company’s share price has risen 98% for the year to date. Last year, it recorded a net income of US$50.8 million, down slightly from the previous year when it reached US$51.2 million.
Revenue for the half-year period to 30th June 2023 was up 2%, while profit for the period rose 277%. This was largely down to the successful conclusion of talks between CEC and Konkola Copper Mines, one of its major clients, over the latter's outstanding payment of US$171.6 million.
Major shareholders in CEC include private equity firm Affirma Capital, Zambia Energy Corporation Limited, and the Zambian state-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc.
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