Zambia in power outage after system failure

Almost the entire of Zambia was plunged into total darkness late Thursday after a disturbance in the country's power system, a senior government official said on Friday.

The southern African nation lost power supply to eight of its 10 provinces after the tripping of a tie line that was carrying imported power of about 560 megawatts.

"This triggered the trippings of generators at Kariba North and later Kafue Gorge (power plants) on overload," Minister of Energy and Water Supply Dora Siliya said on her Facebook page in the early hours of Friday.

The Zambian minister said only southern and western provinces had power because they were supplied with electricity from another power plant, Victoria Falls, which was not affected.

She however said the power utility firm, Zesco Limited, was working around the clock to rectify the system and that power was currently being restored to different provinces, with Lusaka, the country's capital being the first to be restored.

"Most of Lusaka has since been restored. Zesco assures me it is working tirelessly to normalize the situation," she added. Endit