Zim-Zam Agenda 2025

NB: Topics, times and speakers may be subject to change as the agenda develops.

Recent collaborative projects coming online show the impact of government investment in the energy sector since the energy crisis began.

• How Open Access and Multi-Year Tariff policies are creating a more attractive regulatory environment for investors and sustainable utilities
• How public and private sector are working together to enable market-based solutions such as energy trading
• How the governments are enabling M300 and other programmes to make rural electrification bankable

With both countries committing to M300 Compacts, they are pledging to work at scale to increase energy access and partner with the private sector to mobilise new solutions.

• Increasing private sector mobilisation to accelerate the rate of energy projects and encourage investment into Distributed Renewable Energies (DREs)
• Driving sustained growth in the off-grid space – accessing the required funding opportunities to keep the pace needed to meet targets
• Innovative off-grid solutions using RBF mechanisms and demand stimulation initiatives can deliver an increase in energy access rates while making investment more sustainable

With the mining sector dominating energy demand in Zambia and Zimbabwe, they have a part to play in putting in place robust renewable energy systems to meet their energy needs.

• How are mining companies using innovative approaches to generate much needed power in the face of severe load shedding?
• Can Captive Power Plants offer the solution for industry to thrive?
• How can exploitation of critical minerals be harnessed to support the global energy transition?

Faced with climate change, a demand for a just energy transition, and with abundant natural resources for solar, wind and hydro, both countries are pushing forward with prioritising renewable energy projects to meet energy access targets.

• What are the capacity needs of the region from IPPs/PPPs?
• Increasing the pace and scale of renewables through effective procurement policies
• Would establishing a renewable energy procurement office with standardised policies and frameworks help the countries speed up the progress of solar and wind projects, and attract investors?

NB: Topics, times and speakers may be subject to change as the agenda develops.

Over the past 12 months there has dramatic shift in the global financial markets, resulting in project funding and G/PRGs stalling. Here we explore financial innovations resulting from today’s global economic environment:

Scene Setter: East and Southern Africa faces significant threats from climate change and global political shifts impacting bi-lateral funding, but what solutions have been born from the disruption and how can they be adopted at scale and pace…..

• What debt and currency friendly funding mechanisms are available and how has an Open Access regime supported the creation of new financing structures?
• Which tools for risk mitigation can make the difference to getting projects to financial closure, in the absence of government guarantees?

Both countries’ source a high percentage of installed capacity from hydropower, which makes up a large proportion of their primary source of electricity generation. Droughts, and the subsequent reduction in water levels, has created electricity shortages through power deficits, leading to load shedding and reliance on imports.

• Maximising generation from installed capacity, updating and exploiting existing assets, and using hybrid solutions
• How innovative methods, such as water transfer projects, can combat lower water levels (e.g. China and Lesotho)
• How AI technology and weather mapping can improve resource management

The region’s geographical location lends itself to positioning the two countries as energy hubs for Africa. The advanced foundations that SAPP offers means that if the various interconnectors can be brought to fruition, massive benefits will be reaped.

• What is the latest on projects such as ZTIP, ZIZABONA, MOZISA and where are the returns for private sector investment?
• Can transmission tariffs with neighbouring countries and SAPP be harmonized to make regional electricity trade more cost-effective?
• Will prioritising the ZTIP help the Zambian government make progress more quickly, connecting with Tanzania to increase energy transmission?
• How is SAPP’s work on interconnection supporting its member countries to trade in electricity?

Faced with a need for creditworthy off-takers, energy traders have flocked to the region, offering an alternative route to market, filling a gap that utilities have left.

• What are the short- and long-term impacts of the booming energy trading market on the struggling national utilities?
• What does the emergence of energy traders in the region mean for the future of the grid?
• What lessons have been learned from trader-backed projects?
• Is reliance on mining companies as the off-taker sustainable?