The Sunday Mail
Enacy Mapakame
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority has concluded a US$92 million agreement with local energy contractor, Helcraw Electrical (Pvt) Ltd, for establishment of a 120MW diesel-fired electric power plant in Mutare.
The agreement – signed on December 31, 2015 – covers equipment provision costs, installation, commissioning and technical assistance.
The Mutare Emergency Peaking Power Plant is part of efforts by the Zimbabwe Power Company – a Zesa Holdings subsidiary – to augment dwindling supplies from Kariba South Hydro Power Station.
Another diesel-powered electric plant at Dema in Seke, on Harare’s outskirts is set to come online soon, adding 200MW to the grid.
ZPC managing director Mr Noah Gwariro said last week of the Mutare project: “The plant is expected to take about 17 months to install. There will be additional costs.
“We will be able to reduce load shedding by 120MW with this new plant.”
Since last October, some households have endured as much as 18 hours of daily power cuts, forcing many to turn to alternative sources of energy.
Imports from South Africa’s Eskom have, however, improved supplies.
Dropping water levels in the Zambezi River have reduced the amount of power that can be generated from hydro power plants, which usually account for over 50 percent of national electricity output.
Capacity is forecast to fall further this year.
By Wednesday, Zesa was generating 1 321MW, according to data on its website, with Kariba South producing 709MW.
While Harare Thermal was not generating any power, Hwange, Munyati and Bulawayo coal-fired electric stations were generating 558MW, 12MW and 16MW respectively.
Zimbabwe needs more than 2 200MW for industrial and domestic use.
The CEO of advocacy group the Zimbabwe Energy Council, Mr Panganayi Sithole, said there was need for investment in sustainable long-term solutions.
“What Zimbabwe needs at this moment are not midget solutions but long-term solutions.
“We need to look into various options available, for instance solar, which we have not utilised to capacity.
“A solar plant with similar generation capacity of 120MW would be way cheaper than a diesel plant.
“A diesel plant will need to be fed with fuel all the time yet for solar it is a once-off cost.
“Diesel plants will make a difference in the short-term, but as time goes on we will start to feel the costs and who is going to pay for all that?
“Consultations on this were not wide enough to accommodate other ideas. Our industries, like mines, can start their own power generation and in case of a surplus, they can sell it to the next industry or national grid. The same goes for homes, people should be encouraged to start small plants for domestic consumption,” said Mr Sithole.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, electricity blackouts occur daily in Africa with nearly 600 million people without access to power. Faced with this situation, “people and enterprises often have to rely on expensive diesel power generation to meet their electricity needs, costing some African economies between one percent and five percent of GDP annually”.
