Zimbabwe power cuts worsen after plant shutdown
http://af.reuters.com/
Sat Feb 20, 2010 11:05am GMT
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s state power utility ZESA Holdings has extended electricity cuts after a complete loss of generation at the Hwange thermal plant, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
Most urban areas have for the past week experienced prolonged electricity cuts, sometimes lasting more than 24 hours.
ZESA said Hwange, with a design capacity to produce 750 MW of electricity, had been hit by a series of faults on the regional power grid, leaving the plant unable to produce any power.
“These forced outages caused complete loss of generation at Hwange and in the process resulting in major equipment damage,” the statement said.
“Hwange power station is making efforts to bring back those generation units they have repaired, one at a time, and hopes to achieve 350 MW production within a week.”
The country is relying on the 750 MW Kariba hydro plant, which is producing at full capacity, while imports, mainly from Mozambique are dwindling as regional demand for electricity rises.
Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo also export to Zimbabwe, when they have low demand at home.
The southern African country has a peak demand of 2,000 MW and needs up to $4 billion to build planned new power stations to supply adequate electricity.