Zim’s biggest power plant restored to service afte...

Zim’s biggest power plant restored to service after widespread blackout

Xinhua – Zimbabwe’s Hwange Power Station, which went off the grid Wednesday morning, is back online following the restoration of services to most of its generators, the country’s power utility Zesa Holdings said Thursday.

In a statement issued early Thursday morning, Zesa said the country would experience reduced load shedding or power cuts as a result. “Further to our earlier notice about the system disturbance on the national grid, Zesa Holdings would like to advise its valued stakeholders that most of the units at Hwange Power Station have been restored to service. This will result in an improvement in the magnitude of load curtailment,” Zesa said.

The country's largest power plant has eight units, two of which were commissioned in 2023 following an expansion project. The two units generate about 300 megawatts (MW) each, while the older ones suffer from continuous breakdowns due to old age.

There was a countrywide blackout Wednesday after the power station, which had been generating 774 MW on the day, went offline due to the system disturbance.

Some areas in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, had electricity restored Wednesday night but were cut off Thursday morning as the power utility grapples with limited power.

Zimbabwe Power Company, a Zesa subsidiary, which currently operates four coal-fired power stations including the Hwange Power Station, generated 614 MW on Thursday morning. Zimbabwe has a peak demand of about 1 700 MW, according to energy sources.