HARARE – The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Holdings has warned of a temporary shortfall in power transmission in the country as a result of ongoing commissioning tests at the utility’s Hwange Unit 8 plant.
This comes after the country had been reprieved from incessant power outages in the past few days due to increased power supply from the additional 600MW attained from the two units.
However, ZESA, through its subsidiary Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), said engineers are still working on the units to bring about flawless supply of the resource.
“We wish to advise our valued stakeholders that the Hwange Unit 7 and 8 commissioning works are going on well with all comprehensive commissioning tests being followed.
“Consequently, we are treading cautiously on the technical aspects so that we commercially operate robust generators,” said the utility.
ZETDC said the process will affect the power supply gained from feeding the units onto the national grid.
“The evaluation of systems is a continuous process, thus there will be intermittent switching off of the units as and when necessary, leading to a temporary shortfall in supply,” said ZETDC.
“Accordingly, we want to reassure our stakeholders that we are on target to meet commercial operational dates for the contractual handover of the units, with every indication showing that the two units have been built well.
“We commit to ceaselessly implement all the necessary steps to address the nation’s power shortage issues, expand capacity, and enhance service delivery.”
At a cost of US$1,4 billion, the two units have managed to increase the country’s power generation to an average of 1,500MW, company data has shown.
