Zimbabwe has turned to its neighbors, South Africa and Mozambique, to import 200 megawatts of electricity to alleviate the country’s power shortage.
This was announced by the Minister of Energy and Power Development, Edgar Moyo, in a Ministerial Statement in Parliament on Wednesday.
According to the Minister, Zimbabwe is currently generating 1,300 megawatts against a demand of 1,850 megawatts, resulting in a shortfall of 550 megawatts.
To bridge this gap, the country has secured imports of 200 megawatts from Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM), Electricidade de Moçambique, and Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa, with 150 megawatts confirmed from South Africa and Mozambique.
“All these contracts were signed for a year and were resuscitated this past April; they will subsist until April 2025.
“So, we have a firm 150 megawatts supply and variable 50 megawatts supply. Energy supply deficit and all water bodies should ordinarily have generation capacities,” Moyo said.
The Minister highlighted that Hwange Power Station is producing 380 megawatts, while Kariba Power Station is generating 292 megawatts due to low water levels.
Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are contributing 50 megawatts, and solar net metering is adding 24 megawatts to the grid.
Load shedding is being implemented in stages, with Stage 1 targeting residential loads and Stage 2 targeting industrial loads.
The Minister acknowledged that the country has been experiencing Stage 1 load shedding until mid-June, 2024, and has since moved to Stage 2 due to increased demand.
To address the electricity shortfall, the Government is prioritising the refurbishment of Hwange Power Station’s Unit 5, which is expected to add 160 megawatts to the national grid.
The repowering of units 1 to 6 is also expected to restore the station’s capacity to at least 840 megawatts, significantly curtailing load shedding and stabilizing the power supply.
Moyo cited the importance of demand side management, encouraging consumers to actively participate in energy conservation through the Switch-off Switch initiative. The integration of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is also critical in enhancing energy supply stability.
ZESA Holdings has begun a public relations campaign to promote energy conservation, and the Government is mobilising foreign currency to increase electricity imports.
The Minister urged consumers to be responsible in their daily power consumption and to work with the Government to resolve the energy challenge.
The country expects an improved hydrological season for 2024 to 2025 due to the anticipated La Nina phenomenon, and the Government said it is committed to increasing power supply sources through Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Embedded Generation, and demand side management.
But South Africa is staggering with Electricity loadshedding i don’t think if Zim will prevail