The national power utility Zesa has attempted several solutions, all of them ineffectual, but none as illogical as the latest decision by energy minister, Samuel Udenge.
Zesa’s engineering Einsteins and all of Udenge’s sage advisers at the Ministry of Energy put their educated heads together and what they came up with was an idea so stupid that one wonders about the authenticity of the academic qualifications and meaningless titles that are constantly flung about in Zimbabwe.
Since Zesa’s failure to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity, many individuals and the private sector have resorted to alternative energy sources, such as firewood, gas, solar and fuel-powered electricity generators. Minister Udenge and his brains trust have taken it upon themselves to install ‘emergency power suppliers.’ This of course is a fancy ministerial way of saying ‘very big generators.’
The costs
Generators do not run on bath water. Anyone who has run an electricity generator will tell you that it is costly to operate. A Kipor 5kva diesel powered generator, with a 13 litre tank, will give eight hours of power, at $1,30 per litre. Compare that to your daily electricity bill. Generator fuel consumption increases with the load (i.e. as more gadgets are connected to the generator).
Another drawback is that manufacturers do not recommend running a generator for more than five hours nonstop. Then there is the periodic maintenance; oil change, air filters, fuel filters, replacement batteries and spark plugs for the petrol powered variety. In the long term, you need to replace parts that are worn down through daily use – pistons and rings. It is very much the same as maintaining a motor vehicle.
Udenge and his advisors have invited us to a banquet, where they ordered a whole spit roasted hog and passed the bill onto their unsuspecting guests. This moronic solution will require an increase in electricity tariffs, early next year – so soon after the annual affliction known as January disease.
‘The immediate solution to avert a near disaster is to install what are called emergency power plants. These are modules of diesel generators which can be installed in the shortest possible time.
We are already working on installing these as early as February 2016…. I have no doubt that your experience so far with these generators is that they are convenient but are expensive to run… Tariff adjustments are inevitable in 2016 but we will make sure that these will be minimal,’ Udenge said.
After the job losses of August, the company shut-downs and loss of pensions post-dollarisation, Zimbabweans have very little disposable income. If people struggle to pay the current Zesa tariffs, where does Udenge expect us to come up with the money for these increased fees?
Mugabe’s joke backfires
Earlier this month, President Mugabe rushed to defend his beleaguered Minister of Energy. He made jokes, which drew the usual sycophantic laughter from his bootlicking government officials. ‘Minister Udenge haasiye anogaya magetsi.’ (Udenge is not the one who generates electricity).
Obviously Mugabe’s words have now returned to bite him, because Udenge has now decided to run the entire country on diesel generators. The problems that come with this solution are unimaginable. Like all new projects, we should brace ourselves for unbudgeted expenses. Then there is the inevitable equipment breakdown and not least the shortage of funds which comes with government’s looting of the power utility. Where does Zanu (PF) get its money for expensive congresses?
Apart from the low water level at Kariba Dam, Mugabe blamed the power crisis on – would you believe it – dirty coal. ‘The challenge that we have with thermal power from Hwange is that coal has some impurities that disrupt the smooth running of the machinery and that requires constant cleaning. When cleaning the machinery, they switch off some of the units resulting in low generation of power.’
So if thermal power plants need constant cleaning, we can expect to hear the same stories about ‘cleaning and maintenance’ once the Udenge’s giant generators begin operating.
More viable solutions
Kenya has embarked on a massive wind generation project, which guarantees clean renewable energy. South Africa has partnered with Russia in a project to construct a nuclear power plant. Meanwhile we are fumbling in the dark with geyser bans and super-sized diesel generators. Zanu (PF) regards itself as the champion of ‘empowerment.’
The proposed Zesa diesel generators do nothing but make consumers indentured slaves who pay ever rising monthly tariffs. Udenge would have done better to source solar technology kits. These could be sold to consumers so as to lower the pressure on the national grid. The solar solution also liberates the citizenry from a lifetime of debt to the national power utility.
Never-ending excuses
In previous years, Zesa has given numerous excuses for the power shortages. First they said it was forex shortages. We expected power delivery to improve after the change from Zim dollars to foreign currency.
Surely, if we now pay our bills in forex, Zesa should have no excuses. But they came up with a new one – they said consumers were not paying their bills on time. So we changed to prepaid meters. This did not stop the power cuts. And now the million dollar question is why does Udenge think this latest solution will be the final remedy?
The interminable Zesa problems are symptomatic of a failed state. Zanu (PF) has no idea how to fix the economy or any of its attendant problems. They have taxed vendors, taxed churches, taxed our airtime, taxed book imports, banned geysers, banned second hand clothes, banned urban chicken breeding, erected tollgates and might very soon build more tollgates inside our yards.
None of these decisions have yielded tangible results. Watching Mugabe’s government run around from one futile ‘solution’ to the next only puts me in mind of one thing – a child who, when the power goes out, fiddles with the buttons on every gadget, as if expecting a miracle.
– Till next week, my pen is capped. Jerà Twitter @JeraZW
Post published in: Featured