Plant faults send Zim into darkness

TWO major breakdowns at the country’s two main power stations and significant reduction in imports from South Africa have plunged the country into severe power shortages, with ZESA, the power utility announcing longer periods of load shedding.

One generator at the Kariba hydroelectric plant, with a capacity of producing 125 megawatts (MW), broke down on Wednesday, Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda told Business Weekly in an interview.

Another generator at the Hwange thermal plant, with a capacity of generating 100 MW also went offline due to a breakdown. However, this was offset after the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) brought back online unit one, which was damaged in a fire accident last year.

In addition, depressed capacity at Eskom in South Africa has resulted in a significant drop in power imports, from an average of 200 MW to 60 MW, Minister Soda said.

“As we have said before, the Hwange power station is no longer reliable because the plant is too old; so we are frequently experiencing breakdowns,” he said.

“We also had a breakdown of unit six at Kariba, but the fault has been identified.
“The (order) placement of the spares has also been made and we expect them by the end of this week. With regards to imports, we have no control over (their operations), but we are hoping to get more power once they have restored their capacity.”

On Wednesday, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company warned of severe power cuts due to depressed power production.

“The ZETDC would like to advise its value customers countrywide that there will be increased load curtailment from the 13th of July 2022,” said ZETDC, the transmission and distribution unit of state power utility, ZESA. “This is due to depressed local power generation coupled with increased electricity demand in winter and power import constraints.

Zimbabwe is experiencing power cuts, also known as load shedding, sometimes lasting several hours per day due to subdued electricity production and a shortage of foreign currency to import. Zimbabwe now needs about 3 000 megawatts, but generates an average of 1 100 MW from its two major power plants and imports to narrow the deficit.

The power cuts are putting pressure on Zimbabwean businesses already faced with inflationary pressures and exchange rate distortions that have resulted in a huge disparity between the official and black market exchange rates.

“It is a disaster for the industry and the country at large,” said Kurai Matsheza, the president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry. “The impact will be very significant and I see a lot of businesses shutting down (if the situation does not improve.”

In April this year, ZESA executive chairman Dr Sydney Gata warned of severe power cuts as the non-cost reflective tariff continued eroding the viability of the power utility.

Dr Gata said that the viability of the power utility had been eroded “because the tariff is severely frustrated and (the situation) is becoming a time bomb.” “We are heading for another severe load shedding,” Dr Gata warned.

“How long can you stay in business when you produce at a cost nearly twice what you are selling at?” At that time, an average household spent as little as US$10 for electricity per month. With new investments trickling into the economy, particularly mining and manufacturing sectors, there will be a huge demand in the short to medium term, analysts say more investments are “urgently” needed to avert a potential worsening of the electricity crunch.-businessweely