Zimbabwe experiencing power shortfall of 563MW per day

Published: 03 October 2013

ENERGY and Power Development Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire yesterday said Zimbabwe was experiencing a power short fall of 563 megawatts per day, a situation that calls for expansion of generation capacity.

Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday Minister Mavhaire said Zimbabwe's maximum demand of electricity was 1 730 megawatts per day but the local power stations and imports were producing only 1 167 megawatts.

He said the situation called for power generation expansion projects and brokering deals with other countries for the supply of more power.

Minister Mavhaire said the Electricity Act now allows independent power producers to participate in the supply of power and that all producers were free to join the power utility in increasing power supplies.

"The long term solution to power supply in Zimbabwe lies in the expansion of our generation capacity. The Electricity Act has liberalised the power sector, allowing participation of independent power producers in power generation.

"All producers are welcome and they will get all the necessary support from Government. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has duly licenced a significant number of IPP projects," he said.

Zimbabwe Power Company has already started implementing generation expansion projects at Hwange and Kariba power stations.

In the next four years, it is expected that the expansion project at Kariba would increase output by 600 megawatts and Hwange would rise by 300 megawatts per day.

Minister Mavhaire said the strategies that are being implemented by ZPC would ensure that farmers and other critical institutions in the country would not experience power outages.

"In the face of the current shortages, priority for power supply will focus on the agricultural sector to support winter wheat crop and the tobacco crop.

"This is in addition to the essential services that are exempted from loadshedding, that is, major referral hospitals, water and sewer installations, national security establishments, airports and broadcasting stations,central business districts and border posts.

"Farmers will not experience power outages due to the criticality of their business. There will be loadshedding and this saves us from importing food like wheat," he said.

He said Kariba Power Station was producing 500 megawatts daily while Hwange was generating 470 megawatts.

Small thermal power stations in the country are generating 47 megawatts bringing total internal generation to 1 017 megawatts daily.

Zimbabwe is currently getting 200 megawatts from Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique, while exporting 50 megawatts in line with certain business obligations.

Minister Mavhaire said the country used to import power from four countries but due to the shortage of power regionally, only Mozambique is still supplying Zimbabwe with power.

- herald