Rolling blackouts warning
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority (ZESA), has warned of more rolling blackouts as the utility
struggles to meet demand on the back of collapsing infrastructure and
sub-economic tariffs.
08.07.1104:19pm
Vusimusi Bhebhe
ZPC chairman Richard Maasdorp said load shedding would “remain a way of life
until we expand generation at Hwange and Kariba”.
Current total generation capacity at the two stations and smaller thermal
plants in Harare, Munyati and Bulawayo is around 1 400 megawatts against
national demand of 2 200MW.
Maasdorp however said new investment and private sector funding into
generation capacity would not be forthcoming while our tariff remains
sub-economic and in the absence of a long-term tariff formula.
The current tariff of 7.53 USc per kilowatt, was set in February 2009 and 28
months later the utility was still awaiting approval of a “cost-reflective
tariff”.
“In the absence of an increase to the tariff, ZPC has now had to slow down
its efforts to stabilise and optimise power from its existing power
stations. In addition efforts to raise capital for adding generation
capacity (a four-to-five-year process from when funding is secured) will be
thwarted,” the ZPC chairman warned.
He revealed that the utility has in the meantime been forced to cut back on
maintenance and ongoing refurbishment in order to compensate for the
sub-economic tariff.
“This is clearly not sustainable and if the situation is not addressed
urgently, the lights you have from time to time today will go out tomorrow,”
he said.
Zimbabwe has experienced rolling power cuts during the past decade due to
inadequate generation capacity by ZESA.
This has seen ZESA implementing a load management programme under which the
utility regularly switches off some customers during the day in order to
stretch the available supplies.
The daily power cuts have affected domestic consumers as well as the
business community, with some factories forced to retrench workers due to
low production.
ZESA said it was making alternative arrangements with other southern African
utilities to augment supplies during the shortages necessitated by the
ongoing maintenance work on the Kariba plant.
Zimbabwe imports about 35 percent of its power needs from the national
utilities of Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and
Zambia.