The Kariba South Hydro Power Station supplies Zimbabwe with about 70 percent of its electrical power.
Published On 29 Nov 2022
Electricity scarcities that have actually been afflicting Zimbabwe are set to aggravate after an authority that handles the nation’s greatest dam stated water levels are now too low to continue power-generation activities.
The Zambezi River Authority, which runs the Kariba Dam that is collectively owned by Zimbabwe and neighbouring Zambia, stated in a letter dated November 25 that water levels at the most significant hydroelectricity provider are at a record low and electrical energy generation should stop.
The letter, seen by news companies and commonly reported in regional media, stated the Kariba South hydropower station had actually utilized more than its 2022 water allotment which the Kariba Dam’s functional storage was just 4.6 percent complete.
The Kariba South hydropower offers Zimbabwe with about 70 percent of its electrical energy and has actually been producing substantially less than its capability of 1,050 megawatts recently due to declining water levels triggered by dry spells.
The Kariba plant has actually been producing 572 megawatts of the 782 megawatts of electrical power produced in the nation, according to the site of the state-run power company, Zimbabwe Power Company.
The dam “no longer has any functional water to continue carrying out power generation operations,” stated the authority’s Chief Executive Officer, Munyaradzi Munodawafa, in the letter to the Zimbabwe Power Company.
The authority “is entrusted to no option” other than to “entirely suspend” power-generation activities pending an evaluation in January when water levels are anticipated to have actually enhanced, Munodawafa included.
The authority has actually been reporting low levels of water at Kariba Dam throughout this duration preceding the rainy season recently, however inadequate to close down these activities.
Coal-fired power stations that likewise offer some electrical energy are undependable due to aging facilities that continuously breaks down, while the nation’s solar capacity is yet to be totally established to meaningfully enhance supply. Homes and markets have actually been opting for hours, and sometimes days, without electrical power due to scarcities in current months.
The state-run Herald paper reported on Monday that a continuous growth of an essential coal-fired power station, Hwange, might assist plug the scarcities worsened by the Kariba plant shutdown if it goes live by year-end as set up.