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lend than sell the facility to the power utility.
Energy and Power Development Permanent Secretary, Mr Justin Mupamhanga, yesterday said the deal would have resulted in high electricity charges for consumers.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy yesterday, Mr Mupamhanga said Zesa was now consulting the State Procurement Board on the way forward.
“The winner could not meet fundamental requirements because he wanted to lend us the platform when we wanted to buy it,” he said.
“We were going to pay US65 cents per transaction and that would have made power very expensive. The power utility had to go back to the SPB to be given go ahead on engaging the other bidders who had done well and we are still waiting for that clearance.”
Mr Mupamhanga said the pre-paid meters that were supposed to be installed this year were now expected to be installed in the first quarter of 2012. He said the compact fluorescent lamps were also expected to be distributed in the first quarter of next year.
The committee, however, expressed concern with the delays saying there was need for the power utility to expedite the processes to serve energy.
Committee chairperson, Cde Edward Chindori-Chininga (Zanu-PF) and legislator for Guruve South, said the Ministry of Energy and Power Development and Zesa lacked vision in their operations.
“The committee is very worried that the vision of the power utility and the ministry is short or not ambitious at all.
“You have done tenders but you continue to go back and forth, these tenders are falling away just like that and there is no vision of where we are going,” he said.
Mr Mupamhanga also said five investors had been selected for the expansion of Kariba Hydro-Power Station, while six had been picked for the Hwange Thermal Power Station.
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He said the companies were expected to submit their bids for the expansions by end of the year. Mr Mupamhanga said Government had decided to open tenders for expansion of the two power stations after memorandum of understandings signed with some investors had failed to materialise.
He said tenders were binding thereby making it difficult for companies to express interest and disappearing into thin air.
Mr Mupamhanga said both the Zimbabwean and Zambian Governments were interested in seeing the Batoka power project bearing fruits. He said that Government expected the Batoka power project to be operationalised through independent power producers.
Cde Chindori Chininga, however, said the Batoka power project was a political matter that needed political will and to be signed by Heads of Government of the two countries.
Mr Mupamhanga said Zesa Holdings had historical debts of over US$500 million of which about US$103 million was owed from power imports.
He said Zesa Holdings was owed about US$400 million by electricity consumers. Zesa Holdings, he said was now collecting an average of US$50 million per month.
The legislators said there were high levels of illegal power connections especially at the farms with the beneficiaries not paying anything to the power utility.
Chiredzi West legislator Mr Moses Mare (MDC-T), said there was need for the power utility to connect the Chisumbanje ethanol plant’s power generator to the national grid.
Government has so far licensed 13 independent power producers with a combined output capacity of over 4 500 megawatts.
Zesa Holdings is currently producing about 1 400 megawatts against a national peak demand of 2 200 megawatts.
Online Reporter