Hydrological issues and faults exacerbate Zimbabwe’s electricity crisis
Zimbabwe’s power crisis has deteriorated, with widespread power outages affecting many areas, including some with limited electricity supply between 10pm and 3am.
Energy and Power Development Minister Edgar Moyo addressed the issue in Parliament, attributing the crisis to hydrological challenges at Lake Kariba.
“The country is experiencing a lean period in power generation due to hydrological issues at Lake Kariba, resulting in a loss of over 800 megawatts,” Moyo explained.
“With a stored capacity of 1050 megawatts, we are only able to produce 214 megawatts on average due to water rationing caused by low inflows into the lake.”
While acknowledging the challenges in supplying power, Moyo highlighted measures being taken to address the situation, including the commissioning of Units 7 and 8, which generate over 600 megawatts daily, and efforts to increase renewable energy production.
However, Zanu PF Murewa South MP Noah Mangondo raised concerns about power cuts caused by delayed fault repairs.
He asked: “What is the policy on repairing faults, and does the government have service level agreements with ZETDC (Zimbabwe Electricity and Distribution Company) regarding their Service Charter?”
Moyo responded, “Our policy is to expedite fault repairs, but each fault has unique causes and constraints. I propose we discuss specific cases to understand the reasons behind delays.”
He acknowledged service level agreements with ZETDC but noted that funding gaps resulting from last year’s cost-reflective tariff have impacted service delivery.
When asked about engaging with innovators like Maxwell Chikumbutso, who developed a device tapping radio energy, Moyo said, “We haven’t followed up on that… we haven’t received any responses regarding that.”
Regarding revenue collections since the conversion to Zim dollars, Minister Moyo stated, “There hasn’t been a further increase apart from what was awarded towards the end of last year.”
