Staff Writer
Zimbabwe’s power crisis to ease next year as several Chinese companies have set in motion plans to develop eight new electricity stations that will add 4 190MW onto the national grid.
Indian company Jindal has committed to the repowering of Hwange Thermal project by restoring six older units by December next year.
According to the Zimbabwe Economic Review website, eight other Chinese companies will erect power stations in their areas of operations with varying capacities.
These are Zhong Jin Heli in Hwange which will erect a station to feed 300MW; ZZE again in Hwange to power 270MW.
In Gweru, Jinan has committed to build a station which will contribute 200 MW; Xintai in Beitbridge (100MW) and Afrochine in Chegutu (100MW).
In Manhize and Mamina, Dingneng will contribute 100MW apiece in those areas while Titan in Hwange will contribute 720MW.
The projects are all projected to see 500 000 homes countrywide being connected to electricity lines.
On micro grids, 9 700 schools and 1 400 hospitals and clinics will have stable power while street lighting expansion will be targeted in 10 provincial capitals.
Zimbabwe is currently grappling with 18 hour rolling power outages and the interventions by the Chinese companies will be a national reprieve.
Details of the dire power situation in Zimbabwe emerged early this year when it was projected by the Zambezi River Authority in its first quarter report that water levels at Lake Kariba was below normal.
The ZRA reported that 2024 is “being recorded as the lowest lake inflow year for lake Kariba,” a development that is now hugely affecting power generation.
The problem of water inflows is coming from the El nino induced drought spell which is a direct consequence of climate change also known as global warming.
On 12 April this year, the executives of Zambia’s power company, Zesco Limited, Zimbabwe power company (Zpc) and the Zambezi River Authority met to review the hydrological outlook for kariba.
The review took into account the below – normal performance of the 2023/2024 rainfall season.
The meeting looked at the 16 billion cubic meters of water allocated for power generation operations at kariba that was announced in December 2023 and noted that as at the 12th April 2024, the power utilities had utilised a combined total of 5.35 billion cubic meters of water leaving a balance of 10.65 billion cubic metres.
This balance on allocation implied a combined average power generation threshold of 385 megawatts at Kariba dam for the period April to December 2024 which is not enough for Zimbabwe consumption.
Part of the report circulated to Zambia and Zimbabwe authorities after the meeting by the Zambezi River Authority Chief executive officer Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa reads:
“A review of the performance of the first quarter of 2024 and the 2023/24 rainfall season, which is projected to end by May 2024, was undertaken through simulations of water availability and projections up to December 2024. This exercise was executed using the authority’s state of the art and robust Kariba inflow forecasting system which is underpinned by over 100 years of Zambezi River hydrological data.
“The 2023/2024 rainfall performance in the kariba catchment was below-normal as forecasted by weather authorities (the Southern African regional climate outlook forecast and the respective meteorological agencies of Zambia and Zimbabwe).
“The review also indicated the possibility of the year 2024 being recorded as the lowest lake inflow year for lake kariba.”
The report also announced a major drop of inflows of water in the Zambezi River and Victoria Falls.
The report said the Zambezi River flows at Victoria Falls dropped from a peak of 800 cubic metres per second on 4 March 2024 to 657 cubic metres per second on 8 April 2024 before marginally rising again to 703 cubic metres per second on 12th April 2024, compared to 2,052 cubic metres per second recorded on the same date last year and a long-term mean of 2,952 cubic metres per second.
Due to the crisis, ZPC and Zesco will now continue holding weekly joint technical committee meetings where the updated hydrological outlook for the kariba catchment is presented and discussed.
The Zambezi River authority is a bi-national organization mandated to contribute to the economic, industrial, and social development of the republics of Zambia and Zimbabwe by obtaining the greatest possible benefits from the natural advantages offered by the waters of the Zambezi River through the most economical and effective means of providing water for generation of electricity and for other purposes which the contracting states may decide upon.
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