Zimbabweans are feeling the brunt of electricity challenges in neighbouring South Africa amid extended power cuts stretching for more than 20 hours.
South Africa has since the weekend experienced implemented a heavy load shedding schedule due to reduced generation capacity triggered by technical problems at its main coal-fired power plants.
Zimbabwe imports about 400 megawatts from South Africa’s power utility Eskom and events of the past few days have left the country severely exposed.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) said on Tuesday that it has been forced to implement Stage 2 load shedding “due to loss of power imports from the region and depressed local generation.”
“Customers will be advised of progress on restoration of imports and improved local generation to minimize the effects of load shedding,” ZESA said in a statement.
The country has already been experiencing power cuts in excess of 16 hours before the latest challenges.
Most parts of the capital Harare and other major cities have not had electricity since Monday.
JN/APA