Source: Zesa eases load shedding | The Sunday News

Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) says there has been an improvement in the generation of power at Hwange Power Station which has seen easing of the load shedding programme that the country has been experiencing in the past week.

The power company said there was a restoration of services of unit number five at Hwange Power Station on Monday 13 September 2021 which saw an improvement of output from the station by an additional 150 MW.

In a bid to avert the power shortages the company has embarked on various measures to mitigate the problem.

“Amongst the many mitigation measures being taken to address this shortfall, the power utility is in discussion with power utilities in Mozambique and Zambia for a possible supply of 280MW beginning in October 2021. The winter crop is now maturing and largely in the final stages of grain filling.

It is expected that the early planted crop is in the harvesting stage, leaving only the late planted crop being anticipated to be irrigated in the month of October. Hence the power utility is expecting a significant reduction in irrigation load by the end of October 2021,” the company announced in a statement.

ZETDC also said the country is expecting an additional 60.5MW from internal thermal and solar Independent Power Producers projects that are also going to be added to the national grid by the end of next month.

Two lines that are currently out of service are also expected to increase power generation when they resume operations at the end of October 2021.

“Generator number one at Kariba (125MW) which has been on annual maintenance since 13 August 2021 is expected to be back in service on the 24th of September 2021 whilst generator number six at Hwange Power Station which was taken out due to boiler tube leaks is expected to return to service on 23 September 2021. A total of 270 MW is therefore expected to be available from the two machines that are currently out of service by the end of the month,” read the statement.

ZETDC noted that priority is being given to the productive sector and the company was working round the clock to minimise disruption.

“Customers are being encouraged to use the available power sparingly and engage in Demand Side Management Initiatives which include switching off of lights in unoccupied rooms, using natural light where possible, using motion sensors in areas where you only need people when people are in the are and to replace all ordinary bulbs with LED bulbs.

Users are also encouraged to match pots and pans with stove plates to ensure maximum heat transfer and reduce heat losses. Cooking utensils are also advised to have flat bottoms to increase surface area for heat transfer so as to reduce cooking time.”

The power utility also noted that they will release regular updates pertaining to load shedding and the power supply outlook in the interest of keeping their customers and stakeholders well informed for their planning purposes.-@NyembeziMu.