"Currently four ZESA (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) generators are down and only one is operational. Even if the generators were working, there are difficulties in accessing coal from Hwange because of problems associated with their dragline," Ncube told journalist in Bulawayo on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
"Of the five generators at Hwange only one is functional, while four generators are offline. We are currently experiencing a 15 percent power outage," added Ncube.
Ncube said US$2 million was required to repair the dragline at Hwange coal mine and that the work to fix the machine would take two months to complete.
In the event the dragline was fixed, coal availability at ZESA thermal power stations would still be affected by inability by the National Railways of Zimbabwe to move coal timeously, according to Ncube.
Like most major national infrastructure, ZESA's power stations and transmission grid have crumbled due to under-funding and downright neglect after a decade of acute recession that has left Zimbabwe requiring billions of dollars in aid to restore basic services and repair its damaged infrastructure.
Zimbabwean cities have to sometimes go for several days without electricity because of breakdowns at ZESA's archaic power stations or on the transmission network, while failure by the state energy utility to pay for coal has seen some of its thermal power stations having to operate below capacity at times. – ZimOnline