ZESA Holdings says it has tied up a deal to import more electricity from Zambia and Mozambique to augment its depleted generation capacity.
Zimbabwe has been battling rolling power cuts following the break down of the ageing coal-fired Hwange Power station.
Speaking during the launch of Zesa’s operation usabe magetsi/lingebi amagetsi, the company’s executive chairperson Sydney Gata said the current situation requires extraordinary measures.
“To meet this emergency as we speak today, we are just about to finalise an agreement with Zesco in Zambia which will immediately deliver 100 megawatts and in January another 200 megawatts that is going to give us some stability.
“We are also about to conclude an agreement with Cabora Bassa, EDM (Electricidade de Moçambique) to deliver 180 megawatts before Christmas so there are some 500 megawatts that will be available. The plans for that are now in an irreversible mode.”
“We want to assure the government and the people of this nation that we are not gasping for strategic responses to the challenges that I have highlighted. We have a strategic response to the current emergency supply-demand shortfalls and also our contribution to NDS1 and vision 2030.
“In a nutshell, within the next few years up to 2024 which is the target delivery of NDS1 phase one, we want to clear the 300 000-customer backlogs of connections. We will connect 250 000 houses which the government is contemplating constructing in the next four-five years. We want to be able to connect and supply some 23 mining and smelting applications that have come in the last nine months.”
He added that his team is equal to the task to end the current power cuts.
“We attended through the government the Cop 26 conference where they emphasised against coal and equally emphasised energy efficiency in this country.
‘‘Another strategic response available to us is a programme which was started by the German government that could deliver another 400 megawatts of energy savings in the next few years.
“We are also on target to resolve maintenance work at Kariba which has seen two machines every six hours and has accounted for some of the load sheddings. We are seeing that work will be completed in December.”
He added that the nation had all the resources to be leading in electricity supply in southern Africa but there is a need for the development of those resources.
Speaking at the same event, acting Energy minister Jenfan Muswere said the government was not happy with the manner in which some members of society are engaged in unscrupulous activities like meter tampering, bridging, by-passing and illegal connections.
“I am reliably informed that non-technical losses contribute about five percent of our total revenue, and if we are to use the Zesa 2020 financial results as a point of reference, the loss translates to about ZWL$1,4 billion. I am sure you agree with me that this must be stopped and we must all declare war against all forms of theft.
“Given the foregoing, today we commission these new motorbikes which is a step in the right direction in addressing this undesirable situation where customers wantonly steal electricity sometimes in connivance with bad apples amongst ourselves.”
