ZESA delivers load shedding bad news to Zimbabweans: Ngoma ndiyo ndiyo

Zimbabweans face the grim reality of prolonged power cuts stretching well into 2025, as the country grapples with a crippling energy crisis.

The situation, marked by daily blackouts lasting several hours, is a result of insufficient electricity generation to meet national demand. This shortfall is exacerbated by a combination of factors, including critically low water levels at the Kariba Dam due to persistent drought.

The Kariba hydropower plant, with a total capacity of 1,050 megawatts (MW), is currently operating at a drastically reduced capacity, generating less than 100 MW. This severely limits the nation’s power supply.

Ordinary citizens bear the brunt of these prolonged outages, while businesses struggle with significant financial losses due to reliance on expensive backup generators. The situation worsened last week with a nationwide blackout, although authorities attributed this to an imbalance on international power connectors.

Zesa Holdings executive chairman, Sydney Gata, offered little hope of a swift resolution during a recent press briefing. He bluntly stated, “More than 50% of our dependable capacity has been wiped out. This is the main reason behind load shedding. The other factor is that power inputs to supplement the deficit are expensive and they demand foreign currency. We do not have enough foreign currency to make up for the deficit.”

As of yesterday, the country’s total power generation stood at 869 MW, a meagre output comprising 695 MW from Hwange, 124 MW from Kariba, and 50 MW from independent power producers. This stark reality underscores the depth of the crisis. Despite previous pronouncements of an end to load shedding by 2025, Gata ruled out any immediate relief. This contradicts earlier government announcements, including one in July 2023, that declared an end to load shedding.

Gata’s claims of 18 new power stations under construction, with a combined capacity of 4,600 MW, and set to commence operation by 2025, have been met with scepticism. He maintains that, “The results will start to show by the middle of next year,” but the lack of foreign currency to fund necessary imports casts doubt on this optimistic timeline. Furthermore, the urgent need to replace 24,000 kilometres of aging underground cables and overhead conductors adds another layer of complexity to the challenge.

The severity of the situation is further highlighted by the recent past. In June 2024, Zimbabwe resumed higher stages of power cuts due to the ongoing drought and low hydropower generation. A technical problem at the Hwange Thermal Power Station in late August exacerbated the situation, leading to power cuts extending up to 18 hours daily in some areas.

Planned repairs at Hwange and persistently low water levels at Kariba, which dropped to around 4.5 percent in late October 2024 (compared to 18.6 percent in late October 2023), continue to severely hamper production. While the upcoming rainy season offers a glimmer of hope for replenishing dam levels, any significant improvement may take several weeks or months.

The ongoing power crisis has also led to renewed calls for the return of former Energy and Power Development Minister, Fortune Chasi, whose tenure saw a period of relative stability in the power supply. The current situation, with its crippling load-shedding and prolonged outages, stands in stark contrast to the improvements seen under Chasi’s leadership. Reports of some areas enduring three consecutive days without electricity underscore the fragility of Zimbabwe’s power infrastructure and the urgent need for effective solutions.

Chasi himself has acknowledged the public’s calls for his reinstatement, stating on X (formerly Twitter): “I can’t pretend that I am not seeing your ‘demands’ to go back to my former job. I do not take your confidence in me lightly. I encounter it daily and everywhere. As I have said before, serving one’s country is a duty we must all be ready for. I am!”

However, this has been met with resistance from some quarters, with a ZANU PF-linked account dismissing Chasi’s remarks as “political grandstanding.” They asserted that only President Mnangagwa has the authority to appoint ministers.

To fully understand the context of the current crisis, it’s important to consider the legal framework governing ZESA’s obligations. Chasi himself detailed ZESA’s legal responsibilities in a recent Twitter thread, outlining the Electricity Act [Chapter 13:19], contracts with consumers, court rulings on ZESA’s obligations, regulatory oversight, and consumer remedies. He highlighted that ZESA has a duty to supply power but is not obligated to ensure uninterrupted service, given operational constraints.

Chasi’s tenure as Energy Minister, from May 2019 to August 2020, initially showed progress. In February 2020, he reported that Zimbabwe was consistently meeting its debt obligations to Eskom, resulting in improved power supply.

“We are paying US$900 000 (monthly) and we have been able to meet our end of the agreement, which is an honourable thing to do as per our agreement,” he stated.

However, his time in office ended abruptly, reportedly due to conflicts with powerful interests, particularly in the fuel sector. His dismissal was attributed to his conduct of government business becoming inconsistent with the president’s expectations.