Power challenges hit Zimbabwe hard
THE ongoing power challenges in the country are significantly affecting both businesses and communities, as they endure entire days without electricity, impacting productivity and service delivery.
According to the Zimbabwe Power Company’s (ZPC) daily electricity production statistics for November 1, 2024, Hwange produced 639MW, Kariba produced 184MW, and independent power producers (IPPs) contributed 43MW, totalling 866MW.
Hwange power station
Bulawayo Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) vice chairperson Ms Sithabile Bhebhe said the sector is facing considerable difficulties due to the electricity issues. She noted that businesses are losing clients who withdraw their orders because deadlines cannot be met.
“It’s really bad because we are now forced to work according to the electricity schedule. We are planning to get solar, but the problem is funding; generators are expensive to operate,” said Ms Bhebhe.
During a recent visit to the Edgars manufacturing plant, Carousel in Bulawayo, the factory manager Mr Mxolisi Ncube said they have invested in generators to mitigate electricity challenges.
edgars store
He also mentioned that the company has invested in new machine motors to improve efficiency and reduce power consumption. However, experts highlight that the use of generators comes with high operational costs, as they consume a lot of fuel, especially when running continuously, which increases the cost of doing business and affects the competitiveness of local products.
In many instances, communities are spending more than 12 hours without electricity.
This issue has also affected service providers like local authorities. In Bulawayo, residents often go weeks without water due to power challenges at the city’s pumping stations, leading the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to sometimes abandon its water rationing schedules, currently set at 130 hours of water shedding.
In a statement last Wednesday, BCC town clerk Mr Christopher Dube said the recent citywide water supply interruptions were due to depleting raw water levels and intermittent electricity supplies at the pumping stations.
Bulawayo Town Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube
He added that electricity supplies have also been affected by recent thunderstorms, which caused supply lines to trip at Ncema and burnt the transformer at Rochester.
“During power outages, some of the challenges encountered include loss of pump settings and the prolonged recovery process to stabilise.
“This has resulted in reduced raw water delivery to the city and subsequently decreased treatment at Criterion Water Works, leading to compromised city reservoir levels and disruption of the 130-hour shedding schedule.
“To protect the supply and distribution reservoirs from collapsing, the City of Bulawayo is constantly monitoring service reservoir levels and gradually restoring supplies as and when the reservoirs stabilise as per the current 130-hour shedding schedule,” said Mr Dube.
Power challenges, which are not unique to Zimbabwe but affect the entire region, have prompted companies to invest in solar plants.
This investment has reduced their dependence on the national grid, thereby improving efficiency and reducing the cost of doing business.-chronicle
