This latest development is set to add to already long power cuts ahead of the festive season. ZESA generates electricity at five major power stations in Kariba, Hwange, Munyati, Bulawayo and Harare, but produces only 1,530 megawatts a day against a demand of 2,200 megawatts.
To save on usage and cover the gap, ZESA introduced pre-paid meters, initially with a target of reaching out to 5m households and businesses in ten urban centres. The authority also encouraged consumers to switch to energy-saving bulbs, a plan that expected to make a saving of 200 megawatts a day
However, in an interview on the sidelines of a customer education campaign held by the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, Fullard Gwasira, the ZESA spokes-person, said the project had collapsed.
He said that the power company had only succeeded in installing a million power-saving bulbs in Chitungwiza, Bulawayo and Gweru
“Our project has been stalled by lack of resources. The power that can be saved daily is about 40MW instead of the planned 200MW,” he said. “This means that we have to resort to load-shedding until we reach a point where our generation capacity matches national demand.”
Post published in: News