Load-Shedding Woes Set to Ease,Hwange Fault Resolved
The load-shedding being experienced countrywide is set to ease as a technical fault that had been experienced at Hwange Power Station Unit 8 since last week has been resolved. The unit is now awaiting synchronisation, while a cocktail of other measures to end power outages for good have been put in place.
Apart from the importation of electricity to cover up for hydrology challenges at Kariba Dam, ZESA Holdings is now installing a utility-scale battery energy storage system which will provide three hours of 600 megawatts during morning and evening peak periods.
Also to offset pressure from farms, especially during the winter wheat seasons, ZESA will be installing 150MW of solar at productive farms while ferrochrome companies that consume the majority of electricity will now be producing their own power.
Repowering of Hwange Units 1 to 6 is set to boost current output from 485MW to 840MW, and an agreement is being finalized with Indian firm Jindal for the investment of an additional four new units with 1,200MW capacity.
Addressing the media, ZESA executive chairman Dr. Sydney Gata said the utility is implementing a raft of interventions on the back of the blueprints NDS1 and NDS2 as power supply is a critical enabler for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery, stabilization, and growth.
Dr. Gata said the El Nino-induced drought also worsened the power production, with the Kariba South Hydro plant curtailed from 1,050MW to an average of 272MW. The company has been facing a power supply shortfall of up to 540MW during the high-demand winter period, with the total power supply averaging 1,310MW against a demand of 1,850MW at peak.
“However, we experienced a fault at the Hwange Power Station Unit 8 last week and we had to switch it off. These are normal technical hitches that happen during the infancy of any new plants, and I’m glad to notify you that our engineers have resolved this, and we expect to synchronize the unit to be back online soon,” he said.
Dr. Gata said Zimbabwe will soon produce over 3,300MW of additional electricity, while in the medium term, the country is anticipating reverting to higher production of around 700MW from Kariba as the water flows into the dam normalize in the coming years.
The news of the resolution of the Hwange Unit 8 fault and the implementation of various measures to boost power supply has been welcomed by consumers, who have long endured the frustrations of persistent load-shedding.
