One of Hwange Thermal Power Station’s two largest boiler-turbine-generator units has gone back on track giving Zesa an extra 150MW, and Zimbabweans can expect the ongoing load shedding to ease.
Zesa’s distribution arm, Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), last week released a countrywide load shedding schedule following limited capacity at Hwange and the need to take two of the eight turbines at Kariba South offline to allow work on the river bed immediately downstream of the dam wall.
However, in a new statement, ZETDC was more upbeat, saying: “The utility is pleased to advise of an improvement of generation at Hwange Power Station, after the return to service of unit number 5. The unit has improved the station output by an additional 150MW.”
Currently available, Zimbabwe’s maximum power supply ranges from 1240MW to 1600MW against an average demand forecast of about 1735MW at peak periods. This gives an average power deficit range of 145MW -500MW depending on imports availability and local generation performance.