HARARE – Power utility ZESA on Tuesday warned of increased power cuts which could last until Friday following a fault at the Hwange power station.
A statement from ZESA’s power transmission arm, the Zimbabwe Electricity and Distribution Company (ZETDC), said the reduced power generation will see customers going for several hours daily without power.
“ZETDC would like to advise its valued customers countrywide that there will be increased load curtailment from June 28 to July 1, 2022,” the company said.
“This is due to a technical fault at Hwange Power Station. Our engineers are working around the clock to ensure restoration of full service.”
Ageing infrastructure at the coal-fired Hwange power station is blamed for causing intermittent power cuts. Hwange Power Station has a design capacity of 920 MW but has been generating around 360 MW.
The Zimbabwe Power Company said on its website Zimbabwe was generating about 1,350 MW on Tuesday – 16 MW from Munyati, 351 from Hwange and 983 at Kariba Hydro Power Station.
Zimbabwe needs between 1,500 and 1,700 MW to maintain uninterrupted power supplies.
The government contracted China’s Sinohydro to add two units of 300 MW each at Hwange, which are expected to come on stream by Christmas, with works said to be over 80 percent complete.
