Lydia Tembo
Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana announced that Zambia has successfully resolved the nationwide power outage that occurred last night.
The power outage, caused by a “power system disturbance,” affected the entire country, according to state power utility ZESCO. 
The incident occurred at 20:15, resulting in a loss of power supply. Speaking at a media briefing, Kawana emphasized that no lives were lost due to the power outage, attributing this to the government’s prior directive for institutions to maintain alternative power systems.
Meanwhile, ZESCO Limited has announced increased power rationing hours following the power blackout. Acting ZESCO Manager Justin Loongo explained that the outage was linked to ongoing maintenance on the Victoria Falls 220 kV transmission line.
Prior to the disturbance, power rationing had been increased to between five and six hours, with plans to normalize to seven hours once the connection to the Zimbabwean grid is fully restored.
Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary Peter Mumba revealed that some miners were trapped underground in Chambishi and Mufulira during the national blackout.
Fortunately, all trapped mine workers at the two mines in the Copperbelt province were evacuated safely.
