HARARE – The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has attributed on-going power shortages to depressed electricity generation owing to dwindling dam water levels at Kariba dam.
In a statement, the power utility also blamed the crisis on ongoing maintenance work at Hwange Unit 8.
ZETDC said the national grid is generally depressed owing to the challenges.
Zimbabwe was restricted to generate a daily average of 300MW by the Zambezi River Authority which manages the giant water body.
The country is capable of generating up to 1,050MW a day.
“The water lake level currently stands at 11.84 percent,” ZETDC said.
“Furthermore, as previously updated, the Hwange Unit 7 returned to service on 30 November after successfully undergoing a routine C- Type maintenance.
“Unit 7 and Unit 8 ran concurrently from 1-8 December 2023 in preparation for the Unit 8 routine C-Check which commenced on the 8th of December 2023.
“Indications so far point to the fact that the plants have been built to world-class standards. We will continue to provide progress updates and the mitigation measures that have been put in place.”
The power generator also reported that the eastern suburbs of Harare and eastern parts of the country have been plunged into darkness following major faults on the Zimbabwe and Mozambique EDM transmission grid Tuesday.
“As a safety precaution, we urge our valued customers to treat all circuits as live, as power may be restored without notice,” said ZETDC.
