ZRA rules out increased supply

Walter Nyamukondiwa

Kariba Bureau

THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has ruled out increasing the water allocated to Kariba South and North power stations for power generation this season.

ZRA allocated 22 billion cubic litres to be shared equally between Zimbabwean and Zambian power utilities for electricity generation.

This comes as water levels in Lake Kariba have surpassed the 30 percent of usable storage for power generation amid indications the second flood wave from Victoria Falls will reach Kariba in the next nine weeks.

Higher than initially forecast water inflows into Lake Kariba had heightened speculation that ZRA could review upwards, the allocation for power generation.

More water allocation means increased power generation, which is widely anticipated to ameliorate the power deficit in the two countries.

An average of 500MW can invariably be generated by the two power stations throughout the year.

ZRA chief executive Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the large volumes of water at Victoria Falls would take up to nine weeks to reach Lake Kariba.

While water flow was significant, the authority was taking a precautionary approach to minimise the effects of climate change.

This was expected to help build reserves in the lake to ensure there was enough water for power generation next year even if there was low rainfall in the Zambezi River catchment.

As of yesterday, water levels in the lake rose by about 41cm from last week’s levels to stand at 30,29 percent of usable storage for power generation.