By Tendai Chisiri
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) executive chairman Dr. Sydney Gwata said the uitility is implementing a raft of interventions as power supply is in short supply due to a number of factors.
In a press statement, Gwata highlighted what they are doing for the power supply to be reliable.
” ZESA’s strategic response to vision 2030 to achieve an Upper MiddleClass economy, is the attainment of Energy Security and Access to electricity for all. The Utility is implementing a raft of interventions on the back of the blueprints NDS1 and NDS2 as power supply is a critical enabler for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery, stabilisation and growth”, read the press statement.
”These include the Road Map to Electricity Self Sufficiency for the country that was approved by Cabinet in 2023.The milestone commissioning of the flagship Hwange Power Station 7 and 8 Expansion Project by His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe Dr. Emmerson D. Mnangagwa last year is the major contributor to the current power supply to essential services, critical installations, the export and productive sectors of the economy in spite of the impact of the El Nino during the last rain season which has seen power production at Kariba South Hydro plant curtailed from 1050MW to an average of 272MW, following the directive from the Zambezi River Authority for Zimbabwe and Zambia to reduce generation”, Gwata stated.
”ZESA has been facing a power supply shortfall of up to 540 MW during the high demand winter period. Total power supply is averaging 1310 MW against a demand of 1850MW at peak, leaving a shortfall of 540MW and the attendant load shedding. However, we have experienced a fault at the Hwange Power Station Unit 8 last week and we had to switch it off. These are normal technical hitches that happen during the infancy of any new plants and I’m glad to notify you that out Engineers have resolved this and we expect to synchronize the unit to be back on line soon”, he expressed.
”The Utility implemented measures to increase power supply with additional imports to augment local supply and interventions to restore capacity at Hwange Power Station stages 1 & 2 that have been out due to forced outages”, he revealed
Hwange Power Station’s ongoing Repowering Programme is a significant initiative aimed at enhancing the station’s reliability and output. With this investment (US$800 million), the project is set to upgrade Units 1 to 6, ensuring increased capacity, reliability, and extending the operational life of the units by 15 to 20 years.
Currently, the station is maintaining a commendable output of 485MW, even as Unit 5 is being upgraded. The completion of Unit 5 repowering effort is strategically scheduled for April 2025, which will bolster the station’s capacity in preparation for the high demand during the winter peak season.
” Furthermore, to try and mitigate the demand and supply gap, we have to resort to imports from other regional utilities and ZETDC is actively involved on the SAPP Day Ahead Market to access any excess power from the region. The imports have however been reduced as we do not have full capacity to service the arrears. We are owed in excess of ZIG 5.7 billion by several customers. Despite the supply shortages, we have had to resort to exporting electricity during and non-peak hours to raise some foreign currency to meet our obligations”, Gwata said.
”I would want to thank the Government of Zimbabwe for the approval of a cost reflective tariff in December 2023, which has significantly improved our cash flows though still not enough due to exchange losses”, he added.
” The cash flow situation shows a negative variance between cash received and cash obligations like. We use Hwange 7 & 8 expansion loan obligations which average USD36 million a month and payable in USD only and also Afreximbank loan obligations Water, coal, fuel and critical spares for generation, transmission and distribution, Legacy loan instalments, Operational vehicles replacement, National grid rehabilitation and Distribution infrastructure refurbishment”, he revealed.
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