ENERGY Minister Makozo Chikote has announced that government has cut power connection fees from K4,846 to K300 for rural and peri-urban areas. Chikote explains that the connection fee subsidy mechanism is part of the US$250 million clean energy initiative, supported by the World Bank, which aims to connect over 1.6 million Zambians to electricity and clean cooking technologies over the next five years. Speaking during the launch of the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) programme, Wednesday, Chikote said the programme was targeting 100,000 new connections in 2026 alone, and would be rolled out to all 10 provinces starting December 22, 2025. “I am excited to announce that, through the ASCENT programme, over 60,000 households will benefit from...