eBusiness Weekly
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) says it is satisfied with the progress that it is making to ensure the country becomes self-sufficient in energy as it plays a key role towards resuscitating the economy.
A subsidiary of power utility Zesa Holdings, ZPC constructs and operates power generation plants and associated supporting infrastructure to supply electricity to meet national and regional demand.
In a half year assessment report of its performance, the ZPC noted the huge achievements it has recorded so far this year including commissioning of the new 300 megawatt Kariba South Power Station in March this year, which was built at a cost of $533 million.
The ZPC said it remained committed to providing adequate energy.
“The year 2018 has brought with it great achievements, some of which have made it into the history books. ZPC successfully completed the Kariba South Extension Project -the first of its magnitude on record time and within the set budget,” it said.
“The second quarter of 2018 was highlighted by the official ground breaking ceremony for the $1.5 billion Hwange 7 & 8 Expansion Project which was officiated by His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe, Cde. E.D Mnangagwa on 27 June 2018. This came after the first draw down of $199 million for the project was achieved on the 31st of May 2018.”
Reliable electricity supply is a pre-requisite for an industrialized economy, but over the years Zimbabwe has endured erratic power supplies which have badly affected industrial productivity.
The ZPC said other power projects including the Harare Thermal Power station re-powering project which has been accorded National Project status, and the Gairezi hydro power project were taking shape.
Meanwhile, in the first half of the year, the ZPC sent out a total of 3821.27 Gigawatt hours of energy.
It said improved water levels at Lake Kariba resulted in an upward review of water allocation for Kariba Power Station subsequently shifting the average annual capacity from 450 MW to 514 MW.
“Going forward, the company will continue to ensure that there is a continuous and reliable supply of energy from both the hydro and thermal power stations in order to close the gap between actual and planned performance as well as reduce importation of electricity,” it said. – New Ziana
