Zimbabwe to experience power outages of up to 16 hours a day

ZIMBABWE will experience power outages for up to 16 hours a day during the winter season after demand for electricity rose to 1, 800 megawatts (MW) against current output of 1,300MW, the power utility said on Thursday.

The country's seasonal peak power demand occurs during the winter months of June and July and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said it expects maximum demand to average 1,800MW.

In a winter load shedding programme for 2015, ZESA subsidiary, ZETDC said supplies would be interrupted for more than 16 hours a day.

It urged consumers to use power sparingly.