Since early December, output at Kariba South was severely
limited after the stored flood waters from last year were exhausted and only
the low water inflows were available.
That saw Kariba South cut to 300MW before the water
allocation was raised a little to 350MW in February and now to 500MW.
The successful synchronisation of Hwange’s Unit 7 on March
20, followed by the rapid running in to the full 300MW, has seen Hwange Power
Station coping with a lot more of the load. Unit 7 has performed well since
synchronisation, and now generates up to 335MW, although any output beyond
300MW is used to generate electricity for the power station services.
Statistics from Zesa’s power generation unit, the Zimbabwe
Power Company, yesterday showed total generation of 1 090MW: with Hwange on
548MW, Kariba south on 506MW, Harare on 12MW and Munyati on 13MW.
Zesa general manager responsible for stakeholder relations,
communications and welfare Dr George Manyaya yesterday confirmed the power
supply had improved, resulting “in reduced load curtailment across most of our
customer segments”.
“This achievement was as a result of implementation of
various measures and the stabilisation of performance of the Hwange Unit 7
which is undergoing commissioning tests and has been able to supply a full load
of 300MW to the national grid in some instances,” said Dr Manyaya.
“Barring unforeseen technical challenges, we expect the
electricity supply situation to continuously improve as we ramp up generation
at the Hwange Power Station. Likewise, a lot of technical processes are ongoing
in preparation of the impending synchronisation of Hwange Unit 8, which will
add another 300MW.
“Furthermore, we have been engaging with the Zambezi River
Authority for more water allocation and we can confirm that we have been
allowed to increase generation for limited periods.”
In an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe
International Trade Fair (ZITF), Energy and Power Development Ministry
Permanent Secretary Engineer Gloria Magombo said they were assessing Unit 7’s
performance before full commissioning.
“I think you are aware that the project for Hwange 7 and 8
is way above 98 percent completion and there was the successful synchronisation
of the Unit 7 to the grid and this now means that the continued technical
commissioning is now being done live on the system,” said Eng Magombo.
Although the formal commissioning of the unit is in June,
the commissioning process means that power is being supplied almost
continuously. Once all tests and are completed the unit will be officially
handed over from the contractors to ZPC.
The Government, she said, wanted to ensure a seamless and
hiccup-free production of electricity from Units 7 and 8.
“It will be happening for the next month until June when it
will be declared for commercial operation and then we can have the official
handover, which is the cutting of the ribbon,” she said.
“Between now and that time, the unit will be coming in and
out and producing power in the process. That is the difference between cold
commissioning before you synchronise and hot commissioning when you have synchronised.”
While addressing delegates at a Dealt Capital conference in
Bulawayo yesterday, Eng Magombo implored citizens to be patient as the
Government moved to address the power situation.
She said they want to ensure that Unit 7 behaves “in a way that
if there is any challenge, it should be able to remain operational without
having to go off or even explode”.
“It is a very critical period for us as a sector and we
would like the public to bear with us,” she said.
“Yes, we are getting the 300MW from Unit 7, but at times we
have to take it off to make sure that we test at different levels.”
Turning to rural electrification, Eng Magombo said grid
extensions were taking place and were usually targeting business centres,
schools, clinics and communities can then come together and get a 50 percent
subsidy when being connected to the grid.
“We are also using off-grid mini grids. We have built one
in Tsholotsho,” she said.
As warned last week, ZESA prepaid tokens will be
unavailable from 4.30pm on May 5 to midnight on May 6 during scheduled major
system maintenance.
“We would like to sincerely apologise to all our valued
stakeholders for any inconveniences caused and assure that the utility remains
alive to the need to guarantee power supply to the nation, and will harness all
measures to mitigate the power deficit challenges, increase capacity and
improve service delivery,” said Dr Manyaya. Herald
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