Country records rising diesel consumption- ZERA report

The country’s power regulator, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) has released its 2024 energy sector report.

The data points to rising private sector investment in power, growing diesel consumption, and confirms what we all see a boom in the number of fuel retailers.

Meanwhile, the rising diesel consumption indicates electricity shortage in the country.

Here are some key takeaways:

Power Generation: DIY electricity

ZERA issued 20 electricity licences in 2024, with a combined potential capacity of 786MW. Of the new licences, ten are to companies looking to generate their own power and ease their reliance on ZESA.

Electricity supply averaged 1,300MW, far short of the estimated 1,700MW demand.

However, power imports fell from 1,982GWh in 2023 to 1,252GWh in 2024, following the commissioning of Hwange Units 7 & 8 late in 2023.

Fuel: How much are we using?

Zimbabwe imported 1.79 billion litres of fuel in 2024, up from 1.73 billion litres in 2023. Diesel usage has surged from 736 million litres in 2020 to 1.13 billion litres in 2024, reflecting higher usage across transport, mining, and backup power.

Petrol imports declined slightly, to 568.7 million litres in 2024 from 588.3 million litres in 2023.

Jet A1 fuel is seeing a major increase, growing from 21.9 million litres in 2020 to 95.1 million litres last year. ZERA says this shows growing demand in the aviation industry.

LPG gas use is growing fast, with 2024 imports at 77.44 million kg, up 17% from 66.11 million kg in 2023. These reflects how more households and businesses are turning to gas to cope with unreliable ZESA power.

Just how many fuel retailers are there?
The number of licensed fuel retail companies has more than quadrupled over the past decade, from just 229 in 2012 to 996 last year.

With so many players, there are questions on quality. ZESA inspected 1,024 fuel sites in 2024, and 38 sites were shut down after being found with contaminated fuel.

NewZwire