ZESA shuts down 3 thermal stations

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) is closing down three thermal power stations, with a total installed capacity of 240MW.

This is because they have become too old and expensive to run.

According to Energy Minister Edgar Moyo at an average age of 75 years, the thermal plants significantly gone past their billed lifespan of 25 years, and operating them has become economically unsustainable.

The minister says running the Bulawayo station now costs 46 US cents per kilowatt hour, making it too expensive to run.

Apparently, the country is experiencing acute power shortages resulting in extended outages.

While vandalism has been cited as one of the major drawbacks, obsolete electricity generation equipment is the key element affecting the country’s capacity to produce enough.

Zwnews