The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has issued an update on power generation in the country noting an increase in electricity generated at various power plants nationwide.
In a power generation update seen by Pindula News, ZPC said Zimbabwe is producing a total of 727 megawatts as of February 6, 2023, up from about 300 megawatts that were being produced last week. Reads the update issued on Monday:
Site ……………………………. Quantity Produced
Munyati: …………………………………… 0MW Bulawayo: ………………………………… 0MW Harare: …………………………………….. 0MW Kariba: …………………………………….. 332MW Hwange: …………………………………….. 395MW TOTAL: …………………………………….. 727MW
Zimbabwe has been facing a power crisis for several years now, characterized by frequent power cuts and load shedding.
The southern African country’s power crisis is attributed to drought, old infrastructure, lack of investment, and debt.
In an endeavour to address the problem, the government has tried several measures including investing in renewable energy and rehabilitating existing infrastructure, but there are still significant challenges to overcome.
In its report for 2022 fourth quarter (Q4), ZPC stated that a total of 1,719GWh was produced, falling short of its quarterly goal of 2,490GWh by 30.96%.
The power generation utility missed its 9,111GWh annual energy set-out target for 2022 by 7.29%.
Zimbabwe relies on hydropower from Kariba South Power Station since its aged units at the Hwange Power Station are failing to generate to maximum capacity.