Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) has delivered its strongest financial performance in years, underscoring both the resilience of Zambia’s power infrastructure and the scale of opportunity tied to the country’s copper ambitions. Revenue rose 30% to US$711.6 million, up from US$547.7 million in 2024, while profit after tax increased 31% to US$126.9 million.

Adjusted EBITDA climbed to US$199.9 million, reflecting stronger power demand from mining customers and improved regional electricity trading. The company also paid a dividend of US$63.4 million, slightly higher than the previous year, while achieving a major improvement in safety performance.

The financial rebound comes after Zambia’s most severe energy crisis in decades reshaped the country’s economic landscape. The drought of 2024 pushed Lake Kariba, which anchors most of the country’s hydroelectric generation, to critically low levels. Power output from the Kariba North Bank station dropped dramatically and nationwide load shedding stretched up to 21 hours per day.

Zambia was forced to import electricity from neighbouring countries as domestic supply collapsed. The impact on the economy was immediate. GDP growth projections were revised downward and inflation surged. Most importantly, the mining sector, Zambia’s economic backbone, faced power curtailments of up to 40% of normal consumption.

Copper production is an energy-intensive industrial process, and the shortage of electricity effectively capped the country’s output. Zambia produced about 820,670 tonnes of copper in 2024, an improvement on the previous year but still far below the government’s long-term ambition of 3 million tonnes annually by 2031.

Every megawatt of power withheld from mines translates directly into copper that cannot be produced, exported, or taxed. For CEC, which supplies electricity to many of Zambia’s largest mining operations, the energy shortage created a paradox. Demand for electricity was extremely strong, but the company could not fully meet it because the national grid itself was constrained.

The 2025 recovery in CEC’s results reflects improving rainfall, rising water levels at Kariba and renewed activity in Zambia’s mining sector. Production at Konkola Copper Mines and Mopani Copper Mines, both of which experienced prolonged operational disruptions in recent years, has begun to ramp up again.

 Copper production in the first quarter of 2025 was already 30% higher than the same period in 2024, translating into greater electricity demand from mining customers and stronger revenue for CEC. Regional electricity trading also played a major role in the revenue growth.

Power sales across borders surged as the company expanded capacity on the Zambia-DRC interconnector, strengthening energy flows into the mineral-rich Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

CEC is also investing heavily in expanding Zambia’s energy infrastructure. Capital expenditure increased sharply during the year, with funds directed toward solar generation and transmission projects.

The 136 MWp Itimpi II solar project and the 12.5 MWp Fitula solar project are expected to come online in early 2026.

Together with the company’s existing renewable assets, these projects will add significant generation capacity to a grid that remains vulnerable to climate shocks. Solar is emerging as a crucial component of Zambia’s energy diversification strategy, particularly as drought conditions expose the risks of relying heavily on hydropower.

The expansion of the DRC interconnector is another important development. The project has nearly doubled transmission capacity between the two countries, allowing more electricity to flow into the Congolese mining belt.

Regional sales rose sharply as a result, demonstrating how cross-border infrastructure investments can quickly translate into commercial gains.

Despite the strong results, Zambia’s energy challenge remains structural. The country’s copper ambitions require far more electricity than the current grid can reliably supply.

Analysts estimate that producing 3 million tonnes of copper per year would require around 5,000 megawatts of stable power, far above today’s installed capacity. The drought of 2024 exposed just how fragile the system can be when rainfall declines and hydropower generation drops.

CEC’s performance in 2025 therefore tells two stories at once. On the surface, it is a year of record revenue, rising profits and expanding regional energy trade. Beneath that success lies a much larger economic reality. Zambia’s future growth, particularly its copper expansion plans, depends on building a far more resilient and diversified energy system.

For investors and business operators watching Zambia, the power sector is becoming one of the most important investment frontiers in the country.

As copper production expands and regional energy trading grows, companies capable of supplying reliable electricity will sit at the centre of Zambia’s next phase of economic development.