Zimbabwe braces up for week long load-shedding

Zimbabwe is once again back to old ways, as reduced power supply returns which is being attributed to the shutdown of Hwange Unit 6.

According to the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), the coal-powered generator at Hwange Thermal Power Station was shut down for renovations on Friday last week and is not expected to be switched back on until at least Thursday.

Apparently, following years of enduring power cuts lasting up to 15 hours, Zimbabweans enjoyed a period of steady supply in the run-up to last month’s general elections after the successful addition of Units 7 and 8 generators at Hwange.

The two generators produce 300 Megawatts (MW) each.

ZPC on Tuesday said the country was producing 1,343 MW of electricity, with Hwange adding into the grid about 543 MW and the hydro-powered Kariba Power Station 800 MW.

“We shut down Unit 6 to attend to a problem of vibration,” a ZPC source told ZimLive, asking not to be named as they were not cleared to discuss the power situation, describing it as sensitive.

“After the shutdown we allow a cool-off period of about two days before work can begin. We expect to get it back up on Thursday or Friday, regaining about 150 MW.”

Zimbabwe has a peak power demand of around 1,800 MW. The country supplements Hwange and Kariba generation with power from independent power producers who have built solar farms, as well as small thermal power stations at Bulawayo, Harare and Munyati which are currently offline. -ZimLive