Gaps in the law on the liability of electricity supply companies for damage caused by power cuts: Does the consumer redress lie only in tort

Abstract

The need for sustainable development cannot be overemphasized, as development encompasses the ^ocial, economic, cultural and even moral well-being of the individuals. Indeed it has long been Submitted that development is one of the many factors necessary for realization of economic self-reliance. Alongside such development however, are issues such as that of the energy sector of a particular country and how this sector plays a role in development, which if not checked would cause larm not only to mankind, but also to the economy of the country as a whole. inergy is very important to development in that all sectors of any particular economy seem to depend m it; electricity for instance, forms the basis of all proper functioning of industries that have nachinery that runs on power. In this regard it is a must that countries should enact laws which jffectively regulate the energy sector and are at the same time user-friendly especially during a time vhen the country is faced with a crisis such as that of electricity outages. ambia has been experiencing electricity shortages and it is quite clear that the end to these shortages s not in sight. These shortages have been attributed to the increase in electricity demand. The Zambia Electricity Supply corporation (ZESCO) has embarked on an acute load-shedding schedule in response o the unforeseen increase in Electricity demand and people do not have access to this schedule, rlowever, ZESCO does not adhere to the schedule and this is what has caused much loss and damage jecause consumers are not adequately prepared for the sudden interruption of power for which they were not notified of.