Harare (New Ziana) – Electricity cuts are set to ease following the restoration of 450 megawatts to the national grid, power utility Zesa holdings has said.
Power outages had intensified over the past few weeks, with some suburbs going for days without electricity.
Explaining the power cuts, Zesa said three units had been taken out of service at Kariba South Hydro Power station to facilitate urgent dam wall rehabilitation works.
These have since been returned to service.
“The return to service of the units has restored 450MW of power supply to the national grid thus significantly reducing the power supply gap that had increased load shedding,” the company said.
“Furthermore, we wish to advise all stakeholders that the rehabilitation works have been temporarily shelved until January 5, 2022 in order to minimize load shedding during the festive season.”
Work on the Kariba dam-wall rehabilitation project, which is expected to ensure the dam’s longevity and long term efficient operation commenced in 2017.
The project scope comprises the reshaping of the plunge pool and the refurbishing of the spillway gates.
The US$294 million project is being funded by the European Union, World Bank, African Development Bank, the government of Sweden, and the ZRA on behalf of the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, through a combination of grants and loans.
New Ziana