Zimbabwe eases power shortage through subdued industry and imports

People in Zimbabwe have enjoyed uninterrupted power supplies since December last year, due to low demand from manufacturing industry and power imports from South Africa, an official at Zimbabwe's power utility ZESA Holdings has said.

"Consumption from industry has come down a lot. It has come down by half -- an equivalent of 180 megawatts (MW)," ZESA spokesperson Fullard Gwasira told Xinhua.

The country has not experienced load shedding since December 7, 2015, however scores of companies have closed down.

Recent low productivity levels in South Africa have enabled its power utility Eskom to export more power to Zimbabwe.

Gwasira said the ZESA was "juggling" its imports and production capacities -- generating power up to 500 MW from its Kariba hydro station during the day and making use of 300 MW power it was importing from South Africa during the night.

Another power generator in the country, Hwange Thermal Power Station, was almost obsolete and continuously breaking down.

With an installed capacity of 920 MW, the station was at the beginning of the year generating only 200 MW because of faults.

The power station will now benefit from a preferential buyer credit loan of about 997.7 million U.S. dollars at a concessionary rate of two percent per year over 20 years extended by the Eximbank of China to expand generation by 600 MW.

Chinese company Sino Hydro will carry out the work.

Sino Hydro is also expanding the 750 MW Kariba South Power Station by another 300 MW at a cost of 355 million dollars, with money also provided by a China Eximbank loan.

Both projects are expected to be on line in 2018 and to boost power supplies to the nation, which currently generates less than 1,000 MW against peak demand of 2,200 MW.

Three other Chinese companies have struck multi-million dollar deals for the building of three solar power stations, which will generate 100 MW each. Endit