Harare, (New Ziana) – A technical fault at the Hwange Power Station and low water levels at Kariba Hydro Power Station have resulted in depressed power generation, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has said.
Many parts of the country have experienced increased power outages this week as the technical fault exacerbated the depressed generation in Zimbabwe mainly due to low water levels at Kariba Dam and maintenance at Hwange Thermal Power Station.
“ZESA Holdings would like to advise its valued stakeholders that the national power grid is currently experiencing reduced electricity generation capacity due to a technical fault at Hwange Power Station.
This has been further compounded by low generation capacity at Kariba Power Station, resulting from low water levels,” the power utility said. “Our technical teams are actively working to resolve the fault at Hwange to minimize the impact on our customers,” it added.
According to daily power generation statistics from the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a ZESA subsidiary, Hwange Thermal Power Station was as of Wednesday, producing 874MW, Kariba Hydro Power Station, 124.5MW and independent power producers (IPPs) were contributing 50MW for a total 1 048MW, the average generation over the past few weeks.
Zimbabwe has an installed power generation capacity of 2 800MW which is not enough to satisfy the country’s needs. As a result, the country has to import electricity from neighbouring Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa to make up the difference.
Electricity demand in the country is projected to grow to about 5 177MW by 2030, with the government approving a 600MW floating solar plant on Lake Kariba to help diversify the country’s electricity generation mix.
Droughts have caused water levels in Lake Kariba to drop, limiting the amount of power the Kariba South Power Station with an installed capacity of 1 050MW can generate. Technical faults and routine maintenance at Hwange Power Station have contributed to the power generation setbacks, with the aging equipment at the plant exacerbating the problem.
New Ziana
