ZERA warns IPPs
PANASHE CHIKONYORA
Independent power producers (IPPs) should come up with innovative and entrepreneurial mechanisms to play an integral role in the energy mix and help secure power generation stability in the country, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has said.
Nineteen out of 95 licensed IPPs are operational but are largely generating electricity for their own use and not much is being fed to the national grid.
Speaking at a stakeholder consultation workshop held in the capital on Monday this week, ZERA board chairman David Madzikanda said the dismal performance in the IPPs space was worrying.
“Industry is finding it difficult to run their operations (owing to electricity shortages),” Madzikanda said adding, “There is therefore a need for serious innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to bring about or find ways and means to increase electricity generation, particularly from IPPs”.
The government has been hoping that IPPs would complement struggling State-owned power utility, ZESA, to meet demand, estimated at 2 000 megawatts (MW) at peak periods.
The Zimbabwe Power Company, a generation unit of ZESA Holdings, is generating less than 1 000 megawatts (MW) a day from its power stations in Kariba, Hwange, Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare.
On Tuesday this week, Kariba generated 655MW while Hwange generated 151MW.
Munyati, Bulawayo and Harare generated 17MW, 22MW and 10MW respectively.
The 95 licensed IPPs have a capacity to generate about 8 000MW.
About 75 IPPs have failed to take their projects off the ground. In some cases, some of the IPPs were awarded licences more than 15 years ago.
To cover for the shortfall, ZESA is importing electricity from South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique and ZESCO of Zambia.
Most IPPs have blamed failure to access foreign currency to get their proposed projects off the ground after they were licensed to construct power stations.
