- Power outages continue as Hwange Power Station uses obsolete equipment.
- Hwange Power station lost 363MW from 440MW to 77MW.
Zimbabweans should brace for continuous power outages as Hwange Power Station uses obsolete equipment affecting the national grid.
Zimbabwe Energy Minister Soda Zhemu told the Parliament this week that equipment at the power station needed urgent replacement. “Hwange Power station lost 363MW from 440MW to 77MW. The old equipment is due for replacement. The power outage at Hwange was a forced, unplanned fault on the day, and until we have dependable equipment that we need, such outages will be expected,” Zhemu said.
However, the minister said the government had implemented a national renewable energy policy in 2019 to use fossil, solar, wind and biogas energy. So far, the government has licensed 90 investments, of 20 have been developed, adding 68-96 megawatts to the national grid.
Zhemu also highlighted that 920MW would be restored at the station once 6 Units are restored.
He added, “We have increased our imports from 300MW to 500MW, and we also hope to increase electricity generation at Kariba with water levels at 14 % at the dam.”
Zhemu further warned the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) not to disconnect power at essential institutions such as hospitals.