Relief for consumers as ZESA restores Hwange Unit 6 to national grid

SAMANTHA MADE

Zimbabwe’s electricity consumers are set to breathe a sigh of relief after power utility ZESA successfully brought Unit 6 at Hwange Thermal Power Station back online, reconnecting it to the national grid and boosting the country’s strained generation capacity.

The development marks a major step toward stabilising power supply across the country, which in recent weeks has been crippled by severe load-shedding.

ZESA confirmed that the unit had been fully restored and synchronised to the national grid following extensive maintenance work.

“ZESA Holdings is pleased to inform its valued stakeholders that Hwange Unit 6 has been successfully restored to service. The unit has been synchronised to the national grid and is now fully operational, contributing to improved generation capacity,” the utility said.
“We extend our appreciation to all stakeholders for their patience and understanding during the outage period.

The announcement comes as a welcome relief to households and industry that have been reeling from power cuts triggered by low generation at both Hwange and Kariba South Power Stations.

Unit 6, one of the key generators at Hwange’s main station, had been offline for several weeks for scheduled maintenance, worsening the power deficit. 

Hwange, Zimbabwe’s largest thermal plant, has been the backbone of the national power system for decades, but its aging infrastructure has been prone to frequent breakdowns. 

Zimbabwe’s manufacturing and mining sectors, the largest consumers of electricity,  have been among the hardest hit. 

Many factories have been forced to halt operations or switch to diesel-powered generators, dramatically increasing operational costs.

Zimbabwe’s power crisis has been worsened by a combination of factors. 

The Kariba South Hydroelectric Power Station, has been operating at minimal output due to low water levels in the Kariba Dam.