Zesa warns of interrupted prepaid electricity supplies

THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has warned of an interruption of prepaid electricity purchases countrywide from tomorrow to Sunday and urged customers to buy electricity in advance as its system would be down.

In a statement, the parastatal warned of planned interruption from vending systems countrywide which will see consumers failing to purchase pre-paid electricity.

The statement came as some customers were failing to recharge electricity tokens due to network challenges.

"The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) would like to advise its valued customers countrywide that the prepaid electricity vending system will not be available for service from Friday 7th April at 2230hrs to Sunday 9th April at 1000hrs. This is to facilitate for scheduled maintenance works to improve service delivery," read the statement.

The parastatal said the scheduled maintenance work is meant to address challenges that customers have been experiencing during the past weeks.

"Customers are advised to ensure that they buy adequate electricity that will sustain them during this maintenance period to avoid the inconvenience of running out of prepaid credit," said the statement.

Electricity users were left stranded at the weekend after prepaid electricity selling points went offline countrywide.

Some Bulawayo residents said they spent more than 24 hours without power as a result of the challenges with the power utility's system.

Since the start of Zesa's prepaid meter system in 2013, 576 000 prepaid electricity meters have been installed by the power utility in homes and business premises throughout the country against a targeted figure of 800 000 by 2018.