Hwange power station now working at full capacity
By Lance Guma
12 July 2011
The was some good news for Zimbabweans this week following reports that
Hwange Power Station (HPS) is now operating at full capacity, for the first
time in 10 years. All six generators at the plant are said to be working at
‘full throttle’.
A report in the NewsDay newspaper quotes HPS General Manager Ndabezinhle
Mphoko saying, “our highest peak was attained in June this year when we
produced 727 megawatts.”
Despite the dramatic improvement electricity load shedding will continue,
with officials saying demand is still outstripping supply. The country is
now able to produce 1400 megawatts but the national demand stands at 1800
megawatts and is expected to rise to 2000 megawatts as winter temperatures
continue to plunge.
This year in February the country experienced extended power cuts following
the complete shutdown of the Hwange thermal plant. ZESA blamed a series of
faults on the regional power grid and said the plant had experienced 25
‘instant shut downs’ which caused damage to equipment.
Last week it was reported Finance Minister Tendai Biti had advanced nearly
US$32 million towards the rehabilitation of power stations in the country in
a bid to increase energy output. US$26 million of this went into the
rehabilitation of the Hwange power station.