Hwange Unit 1-6 set for BOT rehabilitation

Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter

THE Government has revealed that the Hwange units 1 to 6 will undergo rehabilitation this year under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement to enhance the country’s power supply.

The development is among several measures being implemented by the Government which include expediting the installation of pre-paid meters, addressing structural challenges through Mutapa Investment Fund as well as sourcing foreign currency for Independent Power Producers (IPP).

Speaking during a post-cabinet briefing on Tuesday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Dr Jenfan Muswere revealed that cabinet considered and adopted the report on measures to enhance Zimbabwe’s Power Supply Security.

He said the cabinet noted that to attain the Vision 2030 aspiration of an Upper-middle-income society there is a need to enhance the supply of electricity to cater for the continuous growth of the economy, especially in the productive sectors.

“Accordingly, cabinet approved a raft of measures to enhance the country’s power security. The structural challenges are being addressed by the Mutapa Investment Fund in a process involving bundling or merging of some entities under ZESA Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, as recommended by an independent consultant who was commissioned to undertake the task.

“This will result in a more simplified and efficient governance and management structure. Supply-side interventions include rehabilitation of Hwange Units 1 to 6 under a Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement which is set to commence this year. The Mutapa Investment Fund is also putting in place measures to cater for the foreign currency requirements of Independent Power Producers,” said Dr Muswere.

To address the low uptake of net metering from solar-generated electricity, Dr Muswere said ZESA has been specifically directed to promote the facility and streamline the pertinent procedures and requirements in order to increase uptake.

He said the loss of electricity during transmission is being attended to through the establishment of a joint venture between ZENT and QLV for the manufacture of cables, and in dealing with theft and corruption.

“To enhance revenue collection, ZESA has been directed to speed up installation of pre-paid meters in order to effectively deal with debtors, while the Mutapa Investment Fund is establishing a foreign exchange discount facility against the ZESA debtors’ book to meet the current creditors.

“Investment in research and development involving ZESA, ZENT and institutions of higher learning for the local manufacture of various parts of power generation and transmission equipment is being promoted,” said Dr Muswere.

He said implementation of the foregoing measures will go a long way in enhancing ZESA’s capacity to deliver on its mandate of providing electricity to the nation.

Presently, there is a deficit of up to 400 megawatts in local generation capacity. The country currently imports 200 to 500 megawatts to cover the shortfall.

Despite now charging a cost-reflective tariff, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), still faces challenges which negatively impact its ability to deliver on its mandate of providing electricity to the nation.

@nyeve14