Online Desk |  1 year ago | local

Water levels at Kariba hydroelectric plant have fallen to critical levels to sustain continued generation of energy and the country’s short term hope is now in the commissioning of Hwange Thermal Power station unit 7 this month.

According to a ZESA holdings internal statistics, usable water for generating power at Kariba has dropped to 6,6 percent at a time three units are down for maintenance, leaving the plant producing about 600 megawatts against a capacity of 750 megawatts .

On the other hand three generators at Hwange were shut down on Wednesday due to leaks, leaving the plant to run on two units producing 220 megawatts against a capacity of 920 megawatts, a development that has seen power cuts increasing countrywide, since then.

Meanwhile Power and Energy Development Minister Zhemu Soda said given the situation at Kariba and Hwange, the country now awaits unit 7 at Hwange to feed uninterrupted 300 megawatts into the national grid.

According to the Zimbabwe Power Company, Hwange, Kariba and Munyati power stations are producing about 830 megawatts against a national demand of 2200 megawatts. 

Harare and Bulawayo stations are down and not generating any electricity.