Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza, Zimpapers Writer
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) had restored power to most parts of the country by yesterday evening, following a nationwide power outage caused by a system disturbance at both Hwange Thermal Power Station and Kariba Hydro Power Station.
According to a statement issued by the power utility, the technical fault resulted in a loss of power generation from the two major power stations and further disrupted interconnections with National Transmission (South Africa) and Zesco (Zambia), as well as supply from HCB (Mozambique), all of which were lost simultaneously.
Zimbabwe derives the bulk of its electricity from these two main stations, supplementing the shortfall with imports from regional power producers.
Buzzing sounds of generators filled the air in central Bulawayo and other affected areas from the afternoon into the night, as supermarkets, fast food outlets, and other businesses heavily reliant on electricity turned to backup power to remain operational after the country was plunged into darkness.
As night fell and darkness enveloped the city, motorists struggled to navigate Bulawayo’s streets due to non-functioning traffic lights, while a few major shops powered by generators provided limited lighting for pedestrians making their way to taxi ranks for transport home.
A senior employee at OK Supermarket in the city centre said their generator kicked in shortly after 2PM when the electricity went out.
“We didn’t expect the blackout to last for hours. Our generators consume a lot of diesel, which is costly to run continuously, but we had no choice. Otherwise, we would lose perishables such as meat, milk, yoghurt, and other food items,” said the employee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Mrs Alia Nkomo, a Magwegwe North resident who works at a furniture store, said she only realised the scale of the blackout when she left work at 5PM.
“I thought it was just a small area in the city centre, but now I can see the entire city is affected. It’s not surprising that all the western suburbs are without electricity, we’re just hurrying home to sit in the dark,” said Mrs Nkomo.
Some businesses requiring minimal power for lighting and systems, such as Edgars at the corner of Jason Moyo Street and 8th Avenue, remained open after dark thanks to backup solar systems.
A taxi driver operating at an informal rank along Fife Street said passengers were eager to get home early, fearing opportunistic criminals might take advantage of the blackout.
“Everyone just wants to get home. Many passengers, especially those who usually walk from the main road to their homes, are now willing to pay extra to be dropped off at their gates out of fear of being mugged,” said the driver, who identified himself only as Amon.
In its official statement, ZESA confirmed that the loss of power generation at Kariba and Hwange Power Stations had plunged the country into darkness, but reassured the nation that restoration efforts were underway.
“The system disturbance occurred at 2PM today, Thursday, 3 July,” ZESA said.
“This resulted in a loss of generation at both Kariba and Hwange Power Stations. In addition, interconnections with National Transmission (South Africa), ZESCO (Zambia), and HCB (Mozambique) were also simultaneously lost.”
However, the power utility added that electricity had been restored in some areas by late afternoon.
“Restoration efforts are ongoing, and power has already been successfully restored to some areas. Our teams are working tirelessly to bring the remaining affected areas back online in the shortest possible time,” said the utility.
