In 2023, NRECA International celebrated with the community in Ntatumbila, Zambia, on forming the Ntatumbila Power Electric Cooperative (NPEC), the country’s first electric cooperative. This was the culmination of the Zambia Electric Cooperative Development Program (ZECDP), an initiative that was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Zambia’s Rural Electrification Authority.
Earlier this year, as the construction of the solar-powered mini grid neared completion, NPEC’s new general manager and staff were hired and trained. A celebration was also being planned with the community, government partners, and the NRECA International team for Ntatumbila’s brighter future with electricity.
In January because of major funding cuts, the lights did not come on as planned in Ntatumbila.
Despite the loss of funding, NRECA International’s commitment did not falter. The organization used internal funding to train and mentor the staff and, as much as possible, continue activities as planned. On April 4, 2025 the lights came on. NRECA International also launched a fundraising campaign to help NPEC and the community to keep the lights on.
Below is an excerpt of an interview with NPEC’s General Manager Choolwe Chuuno on June 4, 2025. She is originally from the town of Nakonde, located 73 kilometers from Ntatumbila. Prior to this, Choolwe worked with ActionAid Zambia, where she supported advocacy campaigns to further human rights and end poverty and injustice. Today, she lives in the community she serves. Choolwe spoke to us about her determination to overcome barriers and her hope for Ntatumbila.
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Why did you choose to apply for the General Manager position at NPEC? This position really resonated with my passion for climate and environmental issues. I saw this as something that not only is a solution for the environment, but also beneficial to the community at large. The idea of managing a power grid to supply power to people seemed like a huge opportunity. It would be great to be part of this story, to be part of this experience. There are very few women doing this. So that also convinced me that I should go for it and break some barriers out there.
You received training on the co-op model and how electric co-ops operate. What was your first week on the job like? When I attended the training and orientation, it seemed complicated, and everything was so new. I questioned how does this just come together! But when I was on the ground in Ntatumbila, everything made sense. Having the knowledge in theory before putting it into practice made it easy to implement on the ground. I spent the first week on the job with the technicians in the community. The power was not on yet, and they were connecting ready boards and making some installation adjustments in the houses.
The plan to turn on the lights didn’t go as planned. What went through your mind when you heard about the funding cuts? I was worried. The first question for me was ‘how are we going to sustain our cooperative as a business?’ It is a business — and it was not a good start. But we continued with our work to turn the lights on, with the help from NRECA International.
The lights were turned on officially for the community on April 4th. What was that like? Before we did that, we called for a meeting with all the members on April 3, to inform them that the following day the power was going to be switched on, and what the tariff was going to be. They had questions, and were not sure how it would go. We were still connecting some of the houses during this time, and I wanted to be sure that all members were fully connected. We needed to prove to them that this power system is working. They needed to see it first. The next day, we switched on the power for everyone, and everything was fully operational for two to three hours and at around 5 p.m., we switched off the power. Most people, when they use electricity, they don’t want to sleep in the dark. After experiencing light, people started buying power.
Since then, what changes have you seen in the community? Businesses are coming up. We have three saloons, three barber shops, and quite a number of people have moved to Ntatumbila. We have a productive use of electricity program where we can loan members machinery like refrigerators. We have received many requests from shopkeepers and businesses for loans. The clinic now owns a fridge to store medicine, and the government gave them a sterilizer machine to help clean their equipment. The school wants to have a computer lab so the pupils can do research on their own.
As the general manager of the co-op, what are you looking forward to? Business expansions in the community, because that will contribute to our electricity sales and revenue generation. From the look of things, most people are using electricity for household consumption, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they can explore how it can contribute to their livelihood, and for businesses to come into the community. I also want them to appreciate that renewable energy can also improve lives, because I see people moving away from using charcoal.