Chronicle Editor
Senior Business Reporter
THE country’s thermal power generation has dropped lowest today with the giant Hwange Thermal Power Station producing only 74 megawatts while the three small thermal stations – Bulawayo, Harare, and Munyati have zero output.
According to power generation figures from the
Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), Hwange Thermal Station production levels at 74 MW are the lowest for the country’s biggest thermal station, which has an installed generation capacity of about 920MW.
ZPC could not immediately explain the reason behind the drop in thermal output, which has seen Kariba Hydropower Station becoming the anchor, producing about 250MW. However, Hwange has been prone to breakdowns as most of its units are old. Hopes are high that the power situation would improve significantly when the US$1.4 billion Hwange unit 7 and 8 expansion project comes on stream starting end of the first quarter this year.
On Monday, Hwange generated 75MW down from 168 MW and 139 MW on Friday and Thursday last week respectively. Early in the month, Hwange alone contributed about 384MW to the national grid.
Online Reporter