The Zimbabwean government says the country’s power utility will continue generating electricity from the Kariba Dam hydroelectric station despite current low water levels attributed to drought.
The Kariba Dam, a primary source of electricity for both Zimbabwe and Zambia, is managed by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) on behalf of the two nations.
Last month, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO) announced plans to shut down its power station at Kariba due to depleted water levels affecting power generation.
However, Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, said the country will continue generating power from Kariba. Said Ncube:
The Kariba might be shut down due to the low water levels, we don’t expect this to happen on the Zimbabwean side as we share this facility with Zambia and it’s managed through the Zambezi River Authority. Our prognosis is that on the Zimbabwean side, there shouldn’t be difficulty at all.
The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) has been producing decreasing amounts of power from Kariba Dam over the past several months.
As of October 16, 2024, the ZPC Kariba South Power Station was generating a meagre 184MW, compared to its installed capacity of 1,050MW.
According to the ZRA, the lake level has been steadily decreasing due to low inflow, reaching 476.30m (5.56% usable storage) on October 15, 2024, compared to 478.40m (20.23% usable storage) on the same date last year.
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