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The government has admitted that its failure to mainntain thermal power stations over the years is partly responsible for the power crisis currently bedeviling Zimbabwe.
Speaking during on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe SDG Fund launch in Harare ,the Energy and Power Development minister Soda Zhemu admitted that the power crisis currently obtaining in Zimbabwe is largely attributed to years of negligence which has seen the thermal power stations failing to operate at full capacity.
“Hwange Was established between 1983 and 1986,it is now coming to 40 yers now and there wasnt any major maintenance that was done works over the years and the situation now is that on a good day it generates up to 400 MW at Hwange,”he said.
Zimbabwe has been grappling with a power crisis which has been worsened by the situation at Kariba South Power Station which is currently generating 300 MW due to receding water leves at the dam.
The smaller power stations in the country have not been operational due to lack of coal to sustain operations at Bulawayo,Harare and Munyati thermal stations.
Coal suppliers had suspended coal deliveries citing lack of payment from the governbment a and minister Zhemu added that the situation had been resolved by the government.
” The issue of generation at Bulawayo,Munyati and Harare stations which was being affected being affected by low coal supplies has been resolved.They were having some challenges from the payment of coal but already they have made a payment of ZWL$246 million to the coal suppliers so we hope that will expedite the supply of coal to the stations,”he added.
Minister Zhemu also said that the government has secured funding to start rehabilitating the small thermal power stations to stabilise power supply.
Rehabilitation works at Hwange power station, the biggest coal-fired power facility in Zimbabwe,are underway with expansion set to add two units with an installed capacity of 600MW.
Unit 7 at Hwange Power station is expected to be commissioned this month and will have a 300MW capacity while Unit 8 will come online next year.
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