The Energy Regulation Board has approved 61 licensing decisions that it says carry about K13.4 billion, or US$662.3 million, in proposed investment. The approvals were made at a meeting of the board's licensing committee on 14 October and announced in a statement which SolarQuarter attributes to the ERB's public relations manager, Namokolo Kasumpa, dated 20 October. Both SolarQuarter and Green Building Africa reported the decisions on Tuesday 27 October. They comprise 48 initial and renewal licence applications, nine construction permit applications and four amendments to petroleum transportation licences.
Electricity takes the largest share, according to Green Building Africa, mainly because of capital-intensive generation projects. The named projects are a proposed 150 MW coal-fired thermal power plant in Ndola, a 125 MWp solar photovoltaic plant in Mufulira, the 120 MWp Kasama Solar PV Power Plant, and further solar developments at Chikuni and Rusangu in Monze, at Mwandi and at Chadiza. The approvals also cover an expansion of electricity distribution infrastructure in the Chambishi Multi-Facility Economic Zone in Kalulushi. Neither report gives a dollar split by subsector or the names of the developers.
Petroleum and LPG
On the downstream petroleum side, the committee approved proposed retail facilities in Chongwe, Ndola and Chibombo, and amendments that add tankers to existing transportation licences. The wider set of petroleum approvals covers transportation, distribution, importation, exportation, lubricant businesses and the retail of liquefied petroleum gas. Green Building Africa quotes the board as saying the LPG approvals support the transition to cleaner cooking. The renewable-energy approvals, it reports, are mainly for the manufacture, supply, installation and maintenance of generating equipment rather than for named sites.
The ERB describes its approach, in the words both outlets attribute to it, as facilitating responsible investment through transparent, efficient and predictable licensing processes, subject to compliance with legislation, regulatory requirements and safety standards. Neither report says over what period the K13.4 billion would be spent, nor whether any of the generation projects has reached financial close; an ERB licence or construction permit is a regulatory approval, not a confirmation that a project will be built.
The coal plant is the item likely to draw attention. The two reports describe it only as a proposed 150 MW coal-fired thermal plant in Ndola and give no developer, fuel source or timeline. The solar figures, by contrast, add to a pipeline the government has been promoting as it targets 10,000 MW of generation capacity, a figure Zambia's ambassador to Japan repeated in Tokyo on Monday, according to Zambia Monitor.
Sources: SolarQuarter, “Zambia Approves 61 Energy Licences And Permits For K13.4 Billion (US$662.3 Million) In Proposed Investments” (27 Oct 2026); Green Building Africa, “Zambia's energy regulator approves US$662.3 million in energy investments” (27 Oct 2026); Zambia Monitor, “Zambia seeks Japanese investment in mining, agriculture, energy” (26 Oct 2026).