Zimbabwe power imports partly offset cuts

Zimbabwe can import up to 200MW from South Africa and two Mozambican suppliers to address its electricity shortfall caused by low water levels at Lake Kariba and reduced Zambezi River flows due to drought, according to Energy and Power Development Minister Edgar Moyo.

In his address to the National Assembly and Senate, Minister Moyo stated that Zimbabwe's power generation capacity stands at 1,300MW against a peak demand of 1,850MW. The deficit is primarily due to reduced output at Kariba South, generating only 292MW out of an installed capacity of 1,050MW. Some older units at Hwange are also undergoing rehabilitation.

To mitigate the shortfall, Zimbabwe has secured an average of 200MW through import agreements with ESKOM (South Africa) and EDM and HCB (Mozambique).

Minister Moyo also addressed the stalled 100MW Gwanda solar project, which has been delayed due to legal battles between Intratrek Zimbabwe Limited, led by Wicknell Chivayo, and the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC). He emphasized that the project's delay has exacerbated the power deficit and that moving forward with the project would benefit the country.

He also discussed measures to safeguard taxpayers' money in public-private partnerships, highlighting that lessons from past issues have informed the structuring of future agreements to reduce the risk of weak contractual commitments.