Hwange expansion: Zesa races against time
THE power utility, Zesa, is racing against time to ensure speedy completion of the 600MW Hwange Unit 7 and 8 expansion project whose first phase should be completed before the end of this year.
The US$1,4 billion project is hovering around 84 percent completion, according to latest official updates and is expected to ease the country’s power supply gap.
Zimbabwe has been battling power shortages for some time, which has forced the utility to resort to load shedding as well as seeking imports from the regionally starved grid.
With the economy registering positive growth, demand for electricity is expected to increase in the short to medium term, which will pile more pressure on the generation capacity.
Addressing business leaders and journalists during a recent meeting in Gweru, Zesa general manager responsible for stakeholder relations, Dr George Manyaya, said the Government was moving swiftly to boost domestic power generation and ease consumer access challenges.
He said significant progress had been made on the Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 and 8 expansion projects with the first phase set for commissioning in November and the other unit by February 2023.
“There is significant progress in the Hwange expansion project.
We are working on unit 7 and 8 expansion, which is expected to add 600MW to the national grid,” said Dr Manyaya.
“The programme has reached 84 percent completion and we are hoping that Unit 7, by the end of the year, around November, will be commissioned to add 300MW.”
Dr Manyaya said Unit 8 will be commissioned during the first quarter of 2023 to complete 600MW needed on the national grid.
Speaking at the same occasion, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company commercial service director, Eng Gift Ndlovu, said they had also engaged Zambia and Mozambique for power supply deals as a short-term measure to ease load shedding.
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company
He said they will be getting 100MW from Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) generated from Kafue Gorge.
“We are concluding discussions with ZESCO of Zambia and we need to be paying US$6.3 million every month to utilise the 100MW,” said Eng Ndlovu.
He said Electricity de Mocambique (EDM) of Mozambique is also supplying Zimbabwe with 100MW.
“ZETDC has also adopted net metering, which is expected to reduce bills for consumers.
We now have the facility that allows consumers to export access generation onto the national grid and utilise it when they need power,” said Eng Ndlovu.
“Clients are expected to pay timeously to reduce the debtors’ book in order to improve service delivery.”-The Chronicle
