Zimbabwe’s power utility on Thursday said its power generation capacity is currently hamstrung by low water levels at the country’s main inland lake and warned that it would be forced to introduce load shedding soon to save electricity.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said in a notice that the Zambezi River Authority, which operates Kariba Dam that is located between Zimbabwe and Zambia, has reduced the daily allocation of water to the power plants owned by the two neighbours.
As a result, Kariba South Power Station on the Zimbabwean side has been running at about half its capacity. The power station, which has total generation capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts (MW), is currently producing only 358 MW, ZETDC said.
The utility warned that the reduced Kariba production, coupled with the problem of ageing coal-fired generators at power states in the capital Harare and Munyati, is placing a strain on its ability to ensure normal supplies of electricity.
“In the event that this supply and demand equilibrium is not maintained, the power utility would have no choice but to curtail some loads to restore grid stability,” said ZETDC, a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority.
The expected power cuts come at a time when demand for electricity usually spikes due to the onset of the winter season. The rationing is expected to hurt the private sector, particularly high power-consuming industries such as mining.
JN/APA