Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE nation is reveling in improved power supply following a significant surge in the country’s power generation, marking a turning point in the nation’s energy sector.
The latest reports from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) and daily statistics from the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) reveal a steady rise in electricity production, culminating in a record high of 1 617 megawatts (MW) recorded on Tuesday.
This milestone reflects the fruits of ongoing investments and operational enhancements in the energy sector.
According to ZimStat’s Index of Electricity Generation (IEG) for the first quarter of 2025, the country’s electricity generation index stood at 97.0, reflecting an 8.7 percent year-on-year increase from the 90.2 recorded in the same period last year.
The report further highlights a quarter-on-quarter growth of 6.1 percent, up from 91.4 in the forth quarter of 2024.
“Hwange Thermal Power Station generated 1 674.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, representing 69.2 percent of the total electricity generated during the first quarter of 2025,” reads the report.
Kariba Power Station contributed 24.3 percent, while Independent Power Producers (IPPs) accounted for the remaining 6.5 percent.
The positive trend has continued into the second quarter, with ZPC’s daily generation statistics as of yesterday showing a total output of 1 617MW, comprising 1 135MW from Hwange, 424MW from Kariba, and 58MW from IPPs.
This marks a notable achievement, particularly given the historical challenges faced by the country’s power sector, including aging infrastructure and reliance on imports.
The reduction in electricity imports further underscores the progress being made.
ZimStat reports that imports decreased by 37.4 percent in the first quarter of 2025, down to 305.5GWh from 487.8GWh in the previous quarter.
Year-on-year, imports fell by 39.6 percent from the 505.4GWh recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
“About 34 percent of the imported electricity was obtained from Eskom (South Africa), while HCB (Mozambique) and EDM (Mozambique) provided 37.5 and 10.2 percent respectively,” reads the report.
The improved power situation has not gone unnoticed by residents and industry players.
Bulawayo United Residents Association Chairman Mr Winos Dube, Chairman expressed optimism about the changes.
“From what I observed, there has been improvement in power supply, but I have not had any other complaints from many other areas. There is so much improvement when it comes to load shedding
“Well, for instance, I would say where I am, we just had a power cut on Sunday for a few minutes in the late afternoon, but the electricity was restored earlier before nine people had electricity. Yesterday, the whole day, electricity was there, and today, even after this hour, as we are talking now, the electricity is still there. This is in the area where I am, something which is really an improvement from what we have been used to experiencing. I would say this has happened for the past few months,” he said.
Chairman of the Intensive Energy Users Group (IEUG), Mr Eddie Cross, acknowledged the progress while calling for continued investment.
“There was a significant increase in power supply in the first quarter of 2025, and this is expected to continue in the rest of the year as Kariba Dam is at 22 percent, and we should be able to increase power generation from this source
“In addition, private sector investment in new generation is starting to contribute to national supplies. However, the nation continues to experience a serious shortage of base load supplies,” he said.
