eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – Hwange Thermal Power Station on Tuesday started generating power using all of its six units, after unit six, which had been offline for a number of years, came back on stream, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Situated in the North Western part of Zimbabwe, Hwange is the largest coal-fired power station in the country with an installed capacity of 920 MW comprising of 4×120 MW and 2×220 MW units. The station was built in two stages, with the first four units commissioned between 1983 and 1986 while the remaining two were commissioned in 1986 and 1987.
The station has however been operating below capacity due to technical issues as well as its advanced age. Energy and Power Development Minister Simon Khaya-Moyo said unit six was now on stream.
“The good news we have received today is that all the six units at Hwange Power Station are generating today giving a total of 661 megawatts. It has been years since we last had such an output out of Hwange and the reason is mainly because unit six which has not been functioning for quite some time has been going under refurbishment and it is now in full swing,” he said.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry, Patson Mbiriri said prior to the refurbishments, the power station was generating about 400 megawatts.
“At lowest some five -six years ago we were generating, on a poor day, 100 mw so we have been climbing out of the deep pit we were in,” he said.
Last year, the Zimbabwe Power Company, which runs the power station, announced that it was seeking a $310 million loan from the Indian government to refurbish existing units at Hwange to extend the lifespan of the plant.
The loan would be channelled towards refurbishing and upgrading key components including the boiler pressure parts, boiler & condenser tubes, safety valves, boiler supports and air heaters.
The money would also be utilized to fix water supply challenges through arresting plant water leaks and expansion of river intakes and pump station at Deka. Plans are also in place to expand the power station by an additional two units. – New Ziana
