ZESA, Indian firm inch closer to Hwange deal

CLOUDINE MATOLA

Power utility ZESA and Jindal Steel and Power Company, an Indian company, are inching closer to signing a deal to refurbish six units at the country’s largest coal-fired power plant, Hwange Power Station, Business Times report.

The repowering project, estimated to cost US$800m, will increase Hwange Power Station’s generating capacity from 420 megawatts (MW) to around 900 MW.

Additionally, the project will extend the operational lifespan of the units at Hwange Power Station by 15 to 20 years.

The latest development was disclosed by ZESA’s Executive Chairman, Dr Sydney Gata.

He said the refurbishment project would take up to 48 months to complete.

“ZESA Holdings is finalising an agreement for the repowering of Hwange units 1 to 6 with Jindal of India. This will see an improvement of consistent output from the current average of 485 MW to 840 MW. The programme will be executed unit by unit in the next 36 – 48 months, with work having commenced on unit 5, using internal resources,” Dr Gata said.

The ZESA / Jindal deal comes at a time when the country is experiencing rolling power cuts which has mainly been caused by a reduction in water allocation for power generation at Kariba Dam.

A dramatic drop in dam water levels compelled the Zambezi River Authority, a joint venture outfit owned by the governments of Zimbabwe and Zambia, which manages the water resource in the Zambezi River and the Kariba Dam Complex, to curtain water supply for power generation.

Due to dwindling water levels at Kariba Dam, the Kariba South Hydroelectric Power Station was forced to lower its daily output from approximately 1050MW to slightly under 250MW.

Exacerbating the situation is that the smaller power plants in Munyati, Harare, and Bulawayo haven’t generated any electricity in a while. There are plans to decommission these power plants.

Another problem is aging machinery at the Hwange Power Station. The legacy infrastructure has approached an age at which it needs to be replaced because they are operating beyond their maintenance window.

Since the power plant has been running for more than 30 years, the power generators have outlived their intended lifespan.

Their capacity has consequently been greatly diminished.

Only life extending measures or replacement of equipment will help ramp up their generation capacity.

Zimbabwe has a daily peak demand of about 1800MW but is currently generating  about 1 300MW  from its two power stations in Kariba and Hwange.  To cover for the shortfall, ZESA has been importing power from regional power utilities.

Dr Gata also said another measure that will improve the power generation is the investment of an additional four new units at Hwange by the Indian company that will introduce 1200MW of new capacity and the feasibility studies for these units have commenced.

Meanwhile Dr Gata said ZESA has entered into an agreement with ferrochrome companies to supply their own power in collaboration with ZESA playing a balancing role.

The construction work has already started at one site targeting to produce 300MW of thermal power in Hwange, with the first 100MW coming on stream by mid-2025.

These ferrochrome companies, Dr Gata said will also invest in renewable energy, solar and wind commencing this year.