CONSUMERS NEEDS AFFORDABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY, SAYS ZACA

By Scoop Reporter

The government should start working on alternative energy sources to mitigate the impact of climate change, says Zambia Consumer Association of Zambia executive secretary Juba Sakala.

Mr Sakala said in an interview that government should allocate more resources to prevent potential climate change-related challenges.

“We should prepare for eventualities such as droughts or floods instead of waiting for them to occur.

The situation at hand calls for long term investment, because most of the people cannot afford all those solar systems and the like to diversify at a shortest period of time,” he said.

He said the power utility company should take charge and use their expertise and innovative skills to transition its customer using alternative resources to avert the situation.

“As ZACA, we urge consumers to adapt to changes to avoid being caught off guard, as last-minute planning is costly.

Though we are aware that many citizens find it difficult to use alternative energy sources due to financial constraints,” he said.

He said the high cost of energy sources leads to increased tree cutting, which harms the country.

He said the government recently stated that load shedding should be seen as an opportunity to diversify the energy portfolio, but noted that not all consumers have the financial means to switch to other energy sources, and only those who can afford it were able to do so easily.

“We call on the government to implement a comprehensive and affordable alternative energy source package for all citizens, which would help conserve the remaining resources and combat the impact of climate change.

“This isn’t the first time we have heard calls for people to use alternative energy sources. Climate change is a global issue that requires long-term solutions,” he said.