Hwange Power Station

THE Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) has said it surpassed its energy production target for the third quarter by 1. 1 8 percent, despite reduced generation capacity at Kariba Power Station.

Zimbabwe generates its power from the Hwange Thermal Power Station, the Kariba Hydro-electric Power Station and three small thermal power stations, Munyati in Kwekwe, Harare and Bulawayo.

ZPC managing director Noah Gwariro said the two main power stations, Kariba and Hwange, had exceeded their production targets for the quarter.

“In the period July to September 2015, Zimbabwe Power Company sent out a total of 2,545.68GWh of energy against a target of 2,515.93GWh, surpassing its target by 1.18 percent,” he said in a quarterly performance update.

A Gigawatt (GW) equals 1 000 megawatts of electricity and this unit is often used for large power plants or power grids.

“This fruitful result was due to high plant availability which was recorded at the stations and the improved performance of Hwange unit 4 during the quarter following its successful major overhaul.”

Gwariro said the ZPC faced a number of challenges during the period under review mainly the receding lake level at Kariba, which resulted in the reduction of power generation to a maximum average of 475 megawatts.

But, Gwariro said the smaller power stations had failed to meet their production targets mainly due to low boiler availability and the unsuccessful commissioning of turbo-alternator 1 at Harare Power Station.

“The decline in revenue collection by our sister organization, ZETDC, has also had a negative impact on our operations. This, coupled with the current economic environment, has prompted us to look at various means by which we can reduce costs in order to sustain our operations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gwariro said work on increasing the country’s power generation capacity at Kariba and
Hwange power stations was on course with the projects at various stages of implementation.

“To date, the Kariba 300MW extension project is progressing well, and currently at 29 percent completion. Initial project activities (topographic and geotechnical surveys) are in progress for the Hwange expansion project, and we are also working towards financial closure.”

He said other projects including the Gairezi hydro power project, the Mutare Peaking Power project and the repowering of the three small thermal power stations were also being pursued to boost energy supplies.

He said the Harare repowering contract was awarded to Jaguar of India and is awaiting financial closure.

“India Exim Bank has offered ZPC a $87 mln line of credit for repowering Bulawayo Power Station, while adjudication reports for Munyati repowering are currently at the State Procurement Board,” he said. FinX