Hwange power station hits record output

Zimbabwe's flagship Hwange Power Station expansion has achieved its highest electricity output since coming online last year, producing 498 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in August, project contractor Power China has revealed.

The output translates to an average of 669 megawatts (MW) per day, marking a 2.5 percent increase from July and a 5.1 percent rise compared to the same period in 2024. Cumulative generation for 2025 now stands at 3.56 billion kWh.

Power China hailed the milestone as "critical support for the national grid, easing Zimbabwe's chronic electricity shortages, and bolstering the country's economic growth."

The $1.5 billion expansion project, funded largely through Chinese loans, added Units 7 and 8 at Hwange, each with a capacity of 300MW. The additional 600MW was billed as a game changer for a nation long plagued by rolling blackouts of up to 18 hours a day.

Zimbabwe's electricity demand ranges between 1,700MW and 2,000MW at peak, but supply has often lagged behind, averaging about 1,200MW. The Kariba hydroelectric plant - once the country's main power source - has been severely constrained by low water levels, shifting the burden to thermal plants like Hwange.

Energy experts caution, however, that Hwange's improved performance offers only temporary relief. They point to Zimbabwe's ageing power infrastructure, mounting debt to regional suppliers, and slow uptake of renewable energy as persistent threats to long-term energy security.

Government officials are banking on Hwange's expansion to stabilise supply in the medium term while pursuing new solar projects and further Chinese-backed investments to narrow the deficit.