City adds power station to beef up Kariba power

The Rhodesia Herald, 25 June 1968

SALISBURY City Council has recommissioned its 4.4 million pounds No 3 power station to supplement the output from Kariba during the winter.

The station went out of operation, and the city’s other steam-turbine plant No 2 was put on stand-by, when Kariba began producing power in 1962.

The No 2 station was brought back into full service last winter, but was shut down last month, and the more efficient No 3 plant brought into operation.

It is expected that Rhodesia’s thermal power stations will be used increasingly in the next few years to supplement Kariba until the Kariba stage 11 or Kafue scheme is completed.

As hydro-electric is cheaper than steam-turbine power, Kariba’s full output is used before municipal or Electricity Supply Commission thermal stations are brought into use.

The Deputy City Electrical Engineer Mr H. Foden, said yesterday that although electricity consumption had reached record levels in the city recently, there would be no difficulty in meeting demand.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

◆ As more people now use electricity, it means that demand for power in winter is higher as people use a variety of electrical gadgets for household and commercial use.

◆ To supplement electricity from Kariba, major cities like Harare and Bulawayo commissioned their own power stations which

served their municipalities. ◆ There is need for the two cities to recommission these power stations to feed into the national grid to augment power from Kariba as power demand has increased due to population explosion in the cities. ◆ Innovations over the years have seen electricity being no longer the monopolistic source of power and energy. Apart from solar and wind energy, people are also relying on liquefied petroleum gas. For historical information contact: Zimpapers Knowledge Centre at Herald House on: