On the evening of April 10th in Lusaka, Doreen Bwalya, the manager for NRECA International’s Zambia Electric Cooperative Development Program (ZECDP), proudly acknowledged her team’s hard work from afar. They were sending her live updates from Petauke, located 250 miles from the capital, where the inauguration of Zambia’s second electric co-op was happening.
Ernest Lupiya, ZECDP’s community engagement specialist, and Gladys Musaba, ZECDP’s gender and social inclusion specialist, worked for many months to lay the foundation to form the Petauke Electric Cooperative Society (PEC). Joined by representatives from the Zambia Rural Electrification Authority, Zambia’s Department of Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Energy, Ernest and Gladys witnessed the electric co-op’s first general assembly, and the election of the Board of Directors.
“We are very fortunate to have strong team members who are both skilled and dedicated to help empower communities,” said Doreen. “From the start of this program we were all prepared to learn as we progress, and we will continue to adapt to effectively support the government and contribute to the electrification goals of the country.”
In 2021, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded NRECA International a cooperative agreement to implement this program. ZECDP, in collaboration with local stakeholders and partners, aims to develop viable electric cooperatives in rural communities, that will play an important role in the electrification expansion efforts in Zambia.
PEC is located about 886 miles South of its sister co-op in Ntatumbila, where the ZECDP team supported Petauke community members to organize the country’s first electric co-op in July 2023. The Ntatumbila Electric Cooperative is scheduled to begin distributing electricity to member-owners by December 2024, generated from a solar-powered mini grid that is under final design and construction. For PEC members, households will receive electricity from power lines connected to the national grid, and this process has already begun.
The PEC represents five regions in the Petauke area, and to make sure each region can participate in the democratic process and be represented equally in the electric co-op, the structure of the board is slightly different than its sister co-op in the North. Regional assemblies were held in March, where members approved bylaws and elected three delegates to represent each region in the co-op’s general assembly. In April the co-op’s first general assembly was held in the town of Zuze and nine members were elected to serve on the co-op’s Board of Directors.
“Organizing a co-op starts with a good community awareness information campaign, and working with the Ntatumbila community helped me understand how to improve this effort in Petauke,” said Ernest Lupiya. “Delivering effective and good messages in all materials and focus groups is key to have the community buy in, and this helped the team facilitate the early stages of co-op formation.”
Gladys Musaba was also keeping an eye on the numbers, keen to learn the outcome of her outreach efforts to encourage the participation of women and youth. Currently three out of nine Board members are women, and 40 percent of the entire membership are women.
“It was very exciting to see that the gender equality and social inclusion conversations yielded results,” said Gladys. “Three women and 2 youths were elected to the Board, and I think that is a huge stride. We now have to work together with the cooperative members and leaders so that these numbers translate into meaningful participation and results for the whole cooperative.”
The work is far from done, as the team continues to fulfill the ZECDP mission to create five electric co-ops. Establishing the first two electric co-ops have taught them all a few things. One of them, is patience.
“To develop a sustainable electric cooperative takes time, and consistent effort on the part of all stakeholders,” said Doreen. “It’s a long journey, and we must continue our efforts to engage with all our stakeholders on the electric co-op approach — this is key to maintain the momentum needed be successful.”
Ernest and Gladys already have ideas to improve their efforts.
“If the next co-op site involves multiple regions like Petauke and are grid-connected, we have to include other ways to reach more potential members, maybe through a radio awareness campaign,” Ernest offers.
“We must have the conversation on gender and social inclusion early and often,” said Gladys. “Inclusion is the foundation of a cooperative, so we must continue this conversation until it becomes part and parcel of the cooperative identity.”