Hwange Power Station Unit 1 catches fire

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro

Hwange Power Station Unit 1 caught fire today, Minister of Energy and Power Development Honourable Soda Zhemu confirmed.

In an interview with a local journalist Tafadzwa Nyikadzino, Minister Zhemu said he is yet to get the full extent of the damage caused by the fire.

“Hwange Power Station Unit 1 has caught fire today. Sources on the power plant have said the unit caught fire a few hours ago. The Minister of Energy and Power Development Honourable Soda Zhemu confirmed this development and said he is yet to get the full extent of the damage caused by the fire,” Nyikadzino said on his official Facebook page.

Hwange Power Station is the largest thermal power producer with an installed capacity of 920MW.

According to power generation update by the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), the station was in last days only producing 293MW.

ZPC yesterday said Bulawayo Thermal Power Station, which has 120MW installed capacity, was at zero on Monday, while Munyati Thermal, which originally had 120MW capacity, was generating only 16MW. Harare Thermal Power Station output has dwindled to 12MW against an installed capacity of 75MW, said ZPC.

Meanwhile, Kariba Hydro-Power Station is now the dominant producer of electricity in the country, generating about 754MW out of the combined output of 1 075MW daily at a time when thermal stations are at their lowest due to coal stock outs and ageing plants. Nehanda Radio