ZETDC warns nation to brace for more power cuts

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has warned the country to brace for more power cuts as load shedding is now on stage 2 following a technical fault at Hwange thermal power station which could result in increased electricity outages outside the originally advertised schedule.

The power utility recently introduced a load-shedding programme that saw some suburbs across the country going for at least 10 hours without electricity mainly due to reduced generation at Kariba hydro power plant.

To remedy the situation, the ZETDC is exploring various options including resuming power generation at the privately owned Dema diesel power plant which has not been operating for the past 18 months after the ZETDC stopped purchasing electricity from the plant.

The Dema plant has an installed capacity of 100 megawatts. The ZETDC is also considering increasing power imports mainly from Mozambique.