News / National
Technical faults at Hwange cause for prolonged load shedding
24 Aug 2019 at 09:12hrs | Views
THE Minister of Energy and Power Development, Advocate Fortune Chasi, has said the prolonged load shedding hours experienced in some parts of the country over the past few days were due to unexpected technical challenges at Hwange Power Station.
In an interview on Thursday, Adv Chasi said there had been faults at Hwange Power Station and as a result the electricity supply situation in the country has been erratic in the past few days.
The Minister assured the nation that the power situation was set to improve as his Ministry was making frantic efforts to address the matter.
"I must admit that there was a bit of regression over the past few days. This not a permanent situation. It's really arising from the challenges that we faced from a number of units in Hwange but its actively being sorted out so I am confident that they will come on board pretty soon," said Adv Chasi.
He, however, said the load shedding programme would continue for domestic consumption as Government prioritises the productive sector in the country.
"What we are doing at the moment is to ensure that we give more power to the productive sector. We want to make sure that the mines are operating and that the farms, and particularly now that we have wheat, we want to ensure that the farms have power. So the domestic consumer will find that they will be load shed," said Adv Chasi.
The Minister said he would ensure that Zesa sticks to its published schedule for the convenience of the public.
He said if the power utility is not able to stick to its schedule, it must communicate to its clients.
"The load shedding schedule must operate as it has been published and presented. I have emphasised to Zesa that they need to stick to the schedule and that in those situations where they are unable to do so, the public must be informed that there has been a change. Otherwise if there is a schedule that is not speaking to reality, it gives a false impression and we do not desire that at all," said Adv Chasi.
In an interview on Thursday, Adv Chasi said there had been faults at Hwange Power Station and as a result the electricity supply situation in the country has been erratic in the past few days.
The Minister assured the nation that the power situation was set to improve as his Ministry was making frantic efforts to address the matter.
"I must admit that there was a bit of regression over the past few days. This not a permanent situation. It's really arising from the challenges that we faced from a number of units in Hwange but its actively being sorted out so I am confident that they will come on board pretty soon," said Adv Chasi.
"What we are doing at the moment is to ensure that we give more power to the productive sector. We want to make sure that the mines are operating and that the farms, and particularly now that we have wheat, we want to ensure that the farms have power. So the domestic consumer will find that they will be load shed," said Adv Chasi.
The Minister said he would ensure that Zesa sticks to its published schedule for the convenience of the public.
He said if the power utility is not able to stick to its schedule, it must communicate to its clients.
"The load shedding schedule must operate as it has been published and presented. I have emphasised to Zesa that they need to stick to the schedule and that in those situations where they are unable to do so, the public must be informed that there has been a change. Otherwise if there is a schedule that is not speaking to reality, it gives a false impression and we do not desire that at all," said Adv Chasi.
Source - chronicle
