Govt to commission 3 IPPs

Kudakwashe Mhundwa Business Reporter
Government will by the end of this year commission three independent power producers (IPP’s) that are expected to contribute a cumulative capacity of 30 Megawatts (MW) to the national power grid, according to the Secretary of Energy and Power Development Engineer Gloria Magombo.

Several IPP’s have approached the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) seeking independent licences to venture into electricity generation.

The development also comes as Zimbabwe is making headways towards achieving its own internal power generation and supply capacity to support a growing economy.

At the height of power shortages in Zimbabwe, the country imported an average of 350-450MW from Mozambique and South Africa, which required between US$30 million and US$40 million of scarce foreign currency.

Eng Magombo said the ministry is perusing several power generation projects to make sure that they achieve energy security in the county.

“We are moving these projects because they are critical for moving energy security in the country. We are also dealing with the IPP’s who have been licenced and as I speak we have got about three projects two solar which are being done and a hydro project which we expect that by end of this year they will also be coming to the grid.

“There is one which is being done by Harava Solar which will, when it’s done, avail about 25MW solar, there is another one which is being done in Nyavira by Centre Grid they are putting 2,5 MW and then we also have another 2,1 MW which is being constructed by NRE which is a mini hydro station,” said Eng Magombo.

Electricity generation is one of the top priorities for the new administration as it is a catalyst toward re-industrialisation.

The country’s economic blueprint, the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), prioritises investments in power generation, transmission and distribution networks.