- Load shedding returns to Zimbabwe
- The largest power station running only two of its six plants
Zimbabwe has seen an increase in load shedding amid a generation crisis in its electricity sector. The increase in demand occasioned by winter farming has further exacerbated the crisis in the sector. The Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development, Magna Mudyiwa, has confirmed that the country’s biggest thermal power plant is running below 50% capacity.
The minister said that two out of the six turbines at the Hwange power plant are out of service. ”Hwange Power Station, where we get most of our electricity, is operating below capacity,” Mudyiwa said.
”There are faults happening there, machines are too old, and we have been using three, sometimes two units. So we have many challenges, and that is why we are forced to switch off some areas,” the Minister added.
Mudyiwa noted that the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) is working to resolve the issues with electricity generation. However, power plants in the country are currently operating below installed capacity. The largest plant, Hwange Power Station is is operating at 337MW out of its 920MW installed capacity.
Other plants, Bulawayo operates at 18MW of its 90MW installed capacity, Munyati is at 13MW of its 100MW installed capacity and Harare power station is working at 11MW out of 50MW capacity. The Kariba hydro station is generating 890MW of its 1,050MW capacity.