The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), which is a part of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), has announced that there was a fault at the Insukamini 330KV Substation this morning. As a result, there was a loss of electricity across the whole country. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the power company said it was working to fix the issue and restore normal service as quickly as possible. Read the statement:
Notice on Fault at Insukamini 330KV Substation loss of power on the national grid
ZESA Holdings would like to inform its valued customers that the national grid experienced a system surge this morning at 05h22, which was triggered by a busbar fault at the Insukamini 330kV substation in Bulawayo. This led to the loss of power on the national grid.
Power has since been restored to most parts of the country, and our technical teams are on the ground to ensure full restoration of service in the shortest possible time.
Some parts of Zimbabwe have been experiencing prolonged power outages, even before the rainy season began. This is not a new problem for the country, as it has been struggling with insufficient electricity supply for many years. The peak demand for electricity in Zimbabwe is estimated at 1,850 megawatts (MW), but the current capacity falls below 1,200 MW from the country’s major power generation plants, including Hwange Thermal Power Station and Kariba Hydrothermal Power Station, as well as smaller thermal plants and Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
The main challenges contributing to the power shortage include ageing equipment, which the government and its partners are addressing by renovating power stations like Hwange Thermal. The Kariba Hydropower station is also producing less electricity than its capacity because the Zambezi River Authority limits water usage by Zimbabwe and Zambia. Additionally, there have been issues with coal supply, as miners are hesitant to supply power stations citing payment delays.