Zimbabwe according to reports, is facing the worst power shortage in its history. Zesa, the power utility company ,has been forced to ration electricity supply for up to 18 hours daily. The acute power shortage has hit businesses severely, leading to its dependence on diesel. The growing demand for diesel has led to price escalation. The prices of the commodity has gone up from $1.38 in January to about $7.50 at the end of July.
The power shortage has hit many services particularly mobile phone services. Econet, the largest mobile operator’s services were down on July 20th.According to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) many businesses were forced to closed down due to the power cuts. The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) reports that the power shortages cost industry up to $200 million a week.
The troubles started in May, when Zimbabwe was forced to cut significantly electricity generation at its biggest hydro plant after water levels at Kariba Dam droppedheavily. The Kariba Power Station, which was already operating at half capacity, reduced generation to 358MW from 542MW. All these led to Zimbabwe producing about 1,100MW against a peak demand of 2,200MW. The country is unable to import electricity because it owes South African and Mozambican power utilities $80 million.To cope up with the power situation, Harare increased electricity tariffs for domestic consumers threefold to three US cents in a mid-term budget review. The government hiked fuel prices four times since the beginning of the year. The manufacturing and agriculture sectors have been the most affected by the power cuts,according to ZNCC.
The Zimbabwe government is promoting solar energy by removing import duties on solar energy accessories including batteries and cables, to reduce demand for on-grid electricity. Energy Minister Fortune Chasi stated that hotels would be compelled to install solar systems to reduce demand for electricity from hydro and thermal sources. The government wants the country to produce 1,575MW of solar power.
