Reduced Kariba water allocation for Zim & Zambia i...

Reduced Kariba water allocation for Zim & Zambia in 2024 to affect electricity generation

Zim Now Writer

Power generation at Kariba Hydro-Power Station is set to go down for both Zimbabwe and Zambia next year due to plunging levels at Lake Kariba.

The Zambezi River Authority, co-owned by the two governments which manages the dam, will allocate the countries 16 billion cubic meters of water to be shared equally next year, Zambia’s Energy Minister Peter Kapala said in comments broadcast on State-owned ZNBC TV at the weekend.

The previous lowest water allocation was 20 billion cubic meters in 2016, ZRA said Wednesday.

Water levels have fallen to about 11.5% of usable storage as of 18 December.

Kariba, which traditionally generates the bulk of Zimbabwe’s power supply, reducing the output from the hydro-power station to 450 MW, about half the plant’s installed capacity, information from the Zimbabwe Power Company shows. This has severely cut power supplies from the dam.

Zimbabwe completed two new units at the Hwange power plant this year, adding a combined 600MW to the grid. However, the units are still going through their commissioning phases, which means they are regularly taken offline for routine maintenance. Hwange’s six older units break down often, and are to be refurbished over the next five years using a US$310 million loan from the Indian Export-Import Bank.

However, even these new projects will not be enough to meet rising demand. Zesa says it has orders of additional power installations amounting to over 2 350MW, mostly from mines.

A new World Bank report shows that power demand will rise from the current 1 950 MW to 5 100 MW by 2030, adding that Zimbabwe’s power shortages cost the country an estimated 6.1% of GDP every year.