- The new unit of the Hwange power plant will lift the African nation’s installed capacity by more than 14% to 2400 megawatts.
- The International Monetary Fund counts electricity shortages as one of the major factors weighing Zimbabwe’s growth prospects.
Zimbabwe will start operating a new unit at its only coal-fired power plant by March, the country’s deputy energy minister said, providing relief to millions of citizens rocked by frequent power outages in recent months. The new unit of the Hwange power plant will lift the African nation’s installed capacity by more than 14% to 2400 megawatts. The next unit is expected to be commissioned soon after, Magna Mudyiwa said without giving a timeline.
Less than half of Zimbabwe’s 16 million citizens have access to electricity, and a global squeeze on funding new coal-fired capacity has limited the country’s ability to plug chronic power cuts that have lasted as long as 18 hours in recent days.
“But our electricity demand is about 1700MW, so we have a serious deficit,” she said. This deficient rainfall has led to a decline in hydropower generation. In contrast, the efficiency of the sole, decades-old coal-fired utility has dipped sharply over time, while power demand has surged in recent years due to higher mining and agricultural activity. The International Monetary Fund counts electricity shortages as one of the major factors weighing Zimbabwe’s growth prospects.