By Kalata News
Ikelenge, March 2025 – THE small district of Ikelenge has been spared from the erratic power supply from ZESCO Limited.
Powered by Zengamina Power Limited (ZPL), a privately developed, vertically integrated mini utility company that generates renewable power from a 750kw low impact, run-of-river mini hydro-electric scheme on the upper Zambezi River supplies, the mini hydro supplies power to the Ikelenge District of North West Province.
The power station transmits the power across an independent ‘island grid’, about 100km from the national grid, and directly supplies and bills around 450 households and customers. This has stimulated businesses in the area, is improving healthcare and allowing the district to be connected in real time to the rest of the country and the world through this renewable source of hydro power.
The Zengamina power project is a community based initiative, managed by ZPL on behalf of the owner North West Zambia Development Trust (NWZDT), a charity seeking to alleviate poverty in the area.
It is run by Daniel Rea, who is its current developer and Director.
The project recently added crypto mining to its growing number of customers. Speaking to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in a recent interview, Bitcoin miner Philip Watson said each machine makes about $5 (£3.90) a day, but says they can make a profit even when the value of the bitcoin goes low thanks to the cheap electricity on the site and the partnership they have with the energy company.
“We recognised that in order to get better mining economics we needed to partner with the power company here and give them a revenue share. And so the reason we’re willing to come out here somewhere so remote is it allows us to effectively get cheaper power,” Philip explained.
For more, download the Magazine:
