The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
THE rehabilitation of Bulawayo and Harare thermal power stations, which will see a combined 240 megawatts (MW) being added to the national grid to ameliorate the country’s power deficit is gathering momentum.
Zesa Holdings spokesperson Fullard Gwasira said the repowering of Bulawayo and Harare power stations are at an advanced stage with work on the two projects expected to start soon.
“Bulawayo repowering project prequalification process is currently underway in India and we are awaiting financial closure for Harare power station,” he said.
Repowering is the process of replacing older power stations with newer ones that either have a greater nameplate capacity or more efficiency which results in a net increase of power generated. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority recently issued a licence to the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) to extend electricity power generation at Bulawayo Power Station by 20 years from 2024. India Export and Import Bank extended US$110 million lines of credit for the repowering of Bulawayo Power Station.
Harare Power Station, whose last generators were commissioned in 1942, has over the years been producing power intermittently after it was de-commissioned in 1970. Its re-powering entails replacing old boilers with new technologies that increase the power output as well as the efficiency of the plant.
ZPC operates four coal-fired power stations, Hwange, Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare thermal stations, and the hydro-powered Kariba South Power Station. Last week Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company issued a statement saying that there will be power cuts due to low water inflows into Lake Kariba.
According to information obtained from ZPC’s website the country’s power stations were producing a total of 969 MW as of Friday last week against a demand of 1 600 MW, with Bulawayo and Harare both contributing nothing while Munyati was producing 16 MW, Hwange 456 MW and Kariba 497 MW.
@DNsingo
