- ZESA to import 480MW from Zambia and Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) is set to add at least 480MW to its grid to bridge the supply gap. The Executive Chairperson, Dr Sydney Gata, while speaking at an event, stated that the government had concluded plans to import electricity through import deals with Zambia and Mozambique.
“To meet this emergency, as we speak today, we are just to finalise an agreement with Zambia which will immediately deliver 100MW, and in January another 200MW, and that will give us some stability. We are also about to finalise an agreement with Cahora Basa to deliver another 180 MW before Christmas, and the plans to that are now at an irreversible stage.” Gata added.
Gata further stressed the need for private sector involvement in electricity generation to improve service delivery in the sector. “In general, we must accept that the world has changed to a position where electricity is now produced by the private sector, the independent power producers, and we also have public-private partnerships,” Gata said.
Zimbabwe has been battling load-shedding due to poor electricity generation, obsolete infrastructure and high sector losses.