Zesa boosts power output from Hwange

THE Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) — a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) — last week reconnected Hwange Thermal Power Station’s Unit 6, adding about 150 megawatts (MW) to the national grid, while another 100MW unit is expected to be brought back online within the next two weeks.

Both units were undergoing routine maintenance, and their return to service is expected to bring national power generation capacity close to 1 500 MW, substantially reducing the current power shortfall, especially at a time when low water levels are affecting output at the Kariba Power Station.

As part of measures to pre-empt potential power shortages, the Government has approved the introduction of the utility-scale battery storage system (USBSS), also known as the large-scale or grid-scale battery storage.

It acts as a giant rechargeable battery designed to store excess electricity generated by power plants and release it back into the grid when needed.

The system will store excess power generated during off-peak hours and release it back into the grid during peak demand periods.

Installation of the USBSS, which is expected to be operational by September 2024, is envisaged to improve overall grid stability and mitigate the effects of low generation at Kariba.

In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Energy and Power Development Minister Edgar Moyo said the reconnection of the two units at Hwange was set to enhance daily power generation to around 1 500MW.

“Currently, we are producing about 1 300MW against a demand of between 1 700MW and 2 000MW,” he said.

“Today (Thursday last week), we are bringing back another unit, which was down, Unit 6, one of our biggest units, which will give us 150MW.

“On April 7, we are bringing back another 100MW unit, assuming that nothing happens. We would have raised our production to 1 500MW.”

Local power generation, he said, was also being augmented by independent power producers that are generating an average of 80MW daily.

“I think this will bring the shortfall to just 200MW.

“This difference will be covered through load shedding and imports.

“However, we want to keep our imports as low as possible.”

Minister Moyo said plans were underway to instal the first USBSS at a selected location by September 2024.

Zimbabwe is understood to have lost about 50 percent of its generation capacity as a result of low water levels in Lake Kariba.

“To rectify the situation, we are working towards introducing the utility-scale battery storage system,” he added.

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