The Sunday Mail
Dumisani Nsingo
Senior Business Reporter
Government will revoke non performing licenses of In-dependent Power Producers as it seeks to implement strategies to reduce power outages that have crippled industrial operations, Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi said on Friday.
In an interview after a tour of Bulawayo Power Station, Minister Chasi said there was a need to ensure that all the licensed power projects are started as soon as possible.
“We need to quickly advance the execution of projects by all those who are licensed. I have asked Zera (Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority) to examine the status of each licensed project to see exactly where we are with each of them. We need to understand if there are specific challenges each particular licensee is facing,” he said.
Minister Chasi said failure by any licensee to justify the reason for non-operating the ministry would be compelled to revoke such a license with immediate effect.
“If we are satisfied that there is unjustified pilgrimage around the implementation of the projects then the necessary action will be taken. We cannot have a long list of licenses which are not productive. Everything has to be very legal.
“The licensees must be given the right to explain themselves around the issue of non-performance because at the end of the day, we cannot hang onto people that keep licenses for speculative purposes,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has expressed dismay at the pace at which most of the Independent Power Producers are taking to operationalise their projects while the country grapples to reduce its power deficit.
Zera acting chief executive officer Eddington Muzambani, said the energy regulator has to date licensed 61 IPPs with a combined capacity of contributing 6 671.886 megawatts (MW) to the national grid.
However, only 16 projects are operating, contributing 131,276 (MW) to the grid.
“We are not satisfied with progress being made by IPPs in developing projects since most of them are not yet operational, only 16 projects are now operating,” Mr Muzambani said.
Two projects with a capacity of contributing 200,5MW have been commissioned but are not operational while seven with a capacity of 57,9MW are under construction.
Zimbabwe has liberalised its energy sector to promote the participation of private capital but most of the projects have failed to take off.
This country imports at least 50MW daily from Eskom of South Africa and 100MW from Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) of Mozambique to meet the supply gap, but can access up to 450MW from the two regional power utilities if it pays off its arrears which amount to more than US$80 million.
As a result of outstanding debts, the two suppliers have reduced exports to Zimbabwe by 50MW and 100MW respectively until their dues have been cleared.
However, the country last week paid the South African power utility US$10 million as part of its efforts to service its debt, with Government working on offsetting its arrears to the two suppliers.
Zimbabwe is battling electricity shortages following a sharp decline in water levels in Kariba Dam due to erratic rains in the 2018-19 rainfall season, and generation constraints at Hwange Power Station because of aging equipment.
Zimbabwe and Zambia share less than 1 000MW, which is currently being generated by Kariba Hydro-electric Power Station.
The country has four thermal power stations namely Munyati, Bulawayo, Harare and Hwange and one hydro-power station; Kariba.
As of Friday last week, Munyati and Bulawayo were not contributing anything to the national grid.
Kariba was producing (574MW), Hwange (319MW) and Harare (15MW) totalling 908MW.
