TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
Local companies should invest in alternative sources of energy to mitigate the crippling power crisis, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) has said.
“We encourage our members to invest more in solar energy,” ZNCC Matabeleland Chapter chairperson McKenzie Dongo told Business Times.
The call by the ZNCC comes at a time when power utility ZESA is rolling out unscheduled load shedding due to depleted water levels at Kariba Dam and poor performance by its ageing thermal power plants.
The Kariba South Hydroelectric Power Station, with a capacity to generate 1050 megawatts of electricity, has been the country’s biggest supplier of power, sending out more than 70% of Zimbabwe’s electricity.
But, yesterday, the power station generated 163MW due to low water level in the dam.
Exacerbating the situation, there has also been depressed generation at ZESA’s four thermal power stations in Hwange, Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare.
According to generation statistics obtained from the Zimbabwe Power Company, a generation unit of ZESA, Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare power stations did not generate electricity due to machine breakdowns.
However, the country’s largest coal-fired power plant, Hwange Power Station, generated 415MW
yesterday.
This means ZESA yesterday generated 579MW against a national demand of 1750MW.
To cover for the shortage ZESA is rolling out load shedding. The power utility is also importing from
regional utilities especially Eskom of South Africa and Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique.
However, Zimbabwe is not getting adequate imports as ZESA entered into non-firm contracts with
the regional power utilities, meaning they can only supply electricity if they have surplus.
To worsen the situation, the regional power utilities are also suffering from electricity insufficiency, making it difficult for them to supply Zimbabwe.
As a result, the power crisis has forced many companies to use backup diesel generators, which are
expensive to run.
Manufacturing processes rely on electricity machines that require power to perform precise
and repetitive tasks to increase production.
Now, with the chronic shortages of electricity, the companies are suffering millions of dollars in potential revenue, threatening the viability of companies.
