BULAWAYO- Zimbabwe and Zambia faced a fresh synchronised electricity blackout on Tuesday after South African power utility Eskom triggered a shutdown following a surge, an official said.
Lights went off nationwide in the two countries just before 1PM and restoration efforts began about an hour later. It could take several hours before power is restored to all areas.
Eskom sources said it switched off the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) system through which regional power utilities share electricity to prevent “serious infrastructure damage.”
It is the second national blackout in as many weeks in the two countries caused by surges on the system.
The latest blackout, ZimLive understands, was caused by failures in Zimbabwe’s infrastructure through which Zambia’s ZESCO imports power from both Eskom and Electricidade de Moçambique.
Engineers say Zambia, whose electricity generation shortfall is more severe “has been importing power from Mozambique like crazy.”
An industry source explained: “Electricidade de Mocambique pushes power into Zimbabwe which then conveys it to Zambia.
“Zambia is over importing electricity through the SAPP system and the systems in Zimbabwe are struggling to cope, leading to an overcurrent.”
As the SAPP system is monitored in all three countries, it was Eskom which pulled the safety plug, plunging it’s northern neighbours into darkness.
Zimbabwe and Zambia are both hampered in their power generation by low water levels at Lake Kariba, which has almost depleted water reserved for hydropower generation.
The two countries are fast-tracking energy projects but energy security is not projected at least for a few more years
