ZPC woos local suppliers

The main objective of this workshop was to identify the local manufacturers and suppliers’ capacity to support power generation in the country. Zimbabwe’s electricity demand exceeds the current supply of power that is currently estimated to be at about 1 300MW only. Load shedding has been the order of the day and industry is being affected by the constant power cuts, leaving many people highly disgruntled.

Speaking at the seminar last week, Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma said that reliable power is vital for the growth and transformation of Zimbabwe’s economy. “As the Ministry of Energy and Power Development we want to build capacity for our indigenous suppliers and encourage them to support generation of power in their country,” he said.

He added that he was aware that there were a number of consulting firms available locally to offer the power sector with the required services, but had not had a chance to exhibit their credentials before.

The power generating utility previously utilised local suppliers extensively for engineering services, new plant and equipment supplies, plant refurbishment works and installation and commissioning works.
However, due to the economic downturn that affected the country more than a decade ago, most of the local organisations faced challenges that incapacitated them from offering their services to the power utility, forcing the power company to employ foreign service providers.

Now that the Zimbabwean economy has attained considerable growth, ZPC has realised the need to re-engage more local manufacturers and suppliers in order to sustain the production of power in the country.
Most of the suppliers that attended the workshop welcomed this initiative, and expressed their commitment to serving the nation through supporting the various projects taking place and to ensure that power ceases to be a scarce commodity for the people of Zimbabwe.

ZPC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zesa Holdings. It is responsible for the generation of electricity and other energy-related services.
ZPC is composed of five business units that are Kariba Hydroelectric Power Station, and the Hwange, Bulawayo, Munyati and Harare thermal power stations.

It is currently working on a number of projects to increase energy production in the country, as it is a major contributor to economic development and improvement in the quality of life for all.