TANAKA FETINANDI
Industry is reeling from crippling power cuts with some companies suffering lengthy unscheduled load-shedding of up to 12 hours after Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) reduced the average electricity production at Kariba Dam to 214 megawatts (MW), Business Times can report.
ZRA is a joint venture outfit owned by the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia responsible for the management of water in the Zambezi basin and also maintains the Kariba Dam Complex which comprises the dam wall, Lake Kariba water storage reservoir and other associated ancillary facilities such as lake levels and river in-flows monitoring equipment. Through the rule curve, ZRA determines water levels, that’s the highest and lowest tolerable level, to which the Kariba Dam reservoir may provide firm loads of water for power generation.
The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a generating unit of ZESA Holdings, and the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) which share the water resource from Kariba Dam for power generation for their power stations on the southern and northern banks of the Kariba Dam respectively,
Consequently, power utility ZESA imposed rolling power cuts a few weeks ago due to low generation capacity at its power stations in Kariba and Hwange.
Small power stations in Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare stopped generating electricity last year. And there are plans to decommission the power stations. According to official data obtained from ZIMSTATS yesterday, the quarter on quarter comparison shows that the index decreased by 12.9% from 101.2% in the third quarter to 88.1 in the fourth quarter 2023.
Manufacturing processes rely on electric machines that require power to perform precise and repetitive tasks to increase production.
Now, the chronic shortages of electricity are starting to damage the economy.
As the electricity crisis has deepened, companies are now forced to use backup diesel generators, which are expensive to run.
ZRA CEO, Munyaradzi Munodawafa, painted a gloomy picture of the water situation at Kariba.
He said failure to adhere to ZRA directive will result in steeped drawing down of the live storage of water.
“The water allocation of 8 billion cubic metres (BCM) per power utility, translates into an average power production of 214MW per utility to the end of March 2024 when the first quarter 2024 hydrological review falls due as per standing operational framework for Kariba dam reservoir operations,” Munodawafa said.
He added: “ The hydrological review will among other factors take into consideration the actual performance of the 2023/2024 rainfall season and the resulting inflows into the lake over the first quarter of the year 2024.
“The results of the hydrological simulations could result in an increment, reduction or the keeping of the prevailing 2024 water allocation as the Authority will continue monitoring the hydrometeorological performance of the Kariba Catchment as evolving under the prevailing El Niño climate conditions and keep the public informed of any new positive or negative developments.
Given that the Kariba inflows are so far below average, with a possibility of registering as one of the lowest on record, the Power Utilities have been advised to maintain strict adherence to their respective water allocation thresholds to sustain generation to the end of the year.”
It also comes as the power-utility, ZESA, yesterday warned of more power cuts in the wake of a system interruption that led to the loss of power generation at its Hwange Power Station.
Confirmation of the latest development is bad news to consumers and businesses who were beginning to get uninterrupted power in the last months.
In a terse statement, the power utility said the loss of Power Generation at the Hwange Power Station has led to reduction of power production in the country.
Consumers and businesses who spoke to Business Times yesterday said they were pinning hopes on numerous interventions by the government and ZESA to ensure the situation returns to normal.
“ZESA Holdings would like to inform its valued customers that the national grid experienced a system disturbance this morning at 0938hrs, resulting in the loss of generation at the Hwange Power Station,” a statement from the Stakeholder Relations department reads in part.
“This has resulted in increased load curtailment across the country. Our Engineers are working flat out to ensure restoration of service in the shortest possible time.”
ZESA has for a long time been constrained in the provision of power amid a myriad of challenges that include a huge import bill.
The power utility said it is feeling the pinch of a hefty import bill of US$250mn annually amid calls for a comprehensive strategy to effectively deal with crippling load shedding that is inflicting miseries on residents, commercial and industrial consumers.
The majority of businesses have been forced to use backup diesel generators because of the rolling power outages, which are expensive to operate.
