Zimbabwe officially ends load shedding

The Government has announced that the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has officially ended load-shedding countrywide following various interventions implemented by the Second Republic.

In a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, said "Cabinet noted with satisfaction that the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has announced the end to load-shedding as a result of the interventions implemented by the Second Republic thereby fulfilling the mantra "Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo."

In a recent interview in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Energy Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) acting managing director, Engineer Howard Choga told Chronicle that the country no longer needs a load-shedding schedule as it is now able to produce enough electricity from its power plants with minimal imports to meet demand by domestic and industrial consumers.

With improved power generation, the business community has started feeling the positive impact expressing hope that the situation will continue to stabilise, thereby guaranteeing enhanced production and supply of goods.

This is a significant departure from the acute power shortages experienced in the past years, which have crippled production across various sectors of the economy while the use of generators as an alternative source of energy was said to be costly and not sustainable.

The country's economy is on a rebound due to various policies initiated by the Government that have seen growth in the mining and agricultural sectors.

Several other power generation projects are at various stages of implementation. Added to that, a steadily growing population, rapid rural-to-urban migration, and nascent economic recovery — driven by new mining projects — have spurred demand for power in the country.

The current demand is sitting at about 1 850MW and under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) the country requires 3 467MW by 2025.

NDS1 is the Government's five-year economic blueprint anchoring the economy between 2021 and 2025 and it spells out policies aimed at transforming Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.

To achieve Zimbabwe's aspirations of the national vision, a total of 11 000MW would be required by 2030.

To that end, major refurbishment on Unit 5 at the Hwange Thermal Power Station has since commenced under a multi-million-dollar rehabilitation project set to extend its lifespan by up to 25 years.

The unit has an installed capacity to generate 220MW. The process, which started immediately after the successful synchronisation of two new 600MW generation units —Hwange 7 and 8 — recently, is expected to be complete next year.