• ZESCO on 31^st January unleashed plans to import more power to cushion the economy
• ZESCO’s power deficits was also partly due to maintenance of power plants
• ZESA continues using ageing power plants at Hwange Thermal Power Station affecting generation capacity

Harare- Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited says the 12-hour load-shedding has ended and the nation is set to resume normal electricity supply. This was revealed by ZESCO’s Managing Director, Victor Mapani during the weekend to the media. During his inauguration, President Hakainde Hichilema, just like his counterpart, President Emmerson Mnangagwa promised to end power crisis and HH has delivered.

On the 4th of January 2023, ZESCO introduced 12-hour load-shedding as production has reduced to 400 MW from 1080 MW due to reduced water levels at Kariba. 

However, load-shedding in Zambia was not just because of Kariba’s water level problems but also due to the annual maintenance of the Maamba Collieries Limited Power Plant which produces up to 150 MW. 

On the 31st of January 2023, ZESCO leashed out plans to import a total of 280 MW from Mozambique and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) to ease power rationing for up to 3 months, giving more time to the Kariba dam to gain momentum. 

However, ZESCO’s sister company, Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) remains crumbling to end power blackouts in Zimbabwe to a population of 15 million. 

ZESA’s main problems are heavy reliance on Kariba Power Station which is succumbing to drought spells, heavy reliance on old dilapidated power plants at Hwange Power Station as well as bad debt servicing records which is making it difficult to import electricity. 

At one point, ESKOM of South Africa and Cahora Basa of Mozambique suspended electricity deals with Zimbabwe due to debts that were worth over US$10 million. 

The addition of Unit 7 of Hwange to the main grid has missed its target in January 2023 and ZESA also missed its 2023 electricity self-sufficiency target. 

The nationalisation of the energy sector is impeding efficiency and transparency within the power sector. 

Corruption and reliance on Chinese investors have been the major nemesis to Zimbabwe’s electricity independence resulting in missed targets. 

The nationalisation of grids and power utilities has made it hard to uphold transparency and accountability in energy development. For example, corruption has become cancer within the Zimbabwe energy sector lately. An American firm won the tender for the construction of the Dema Power plant in 2016, but the government cancelled the contract and awarded it to Sakunda Holdings, which had not even placed a bid. The Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company (ZETDC), a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), paid US$4.9 million to Pito Investments for transformers in 2010. The transformers were never delivered. Similarly, the Zimbabwe Power Company paid US$196,064 to York Investments for gas that was never delivered, and US$67,000 for coal that was never delivered.

According to the Information Ministry, over US$1 billion is lost to corruption annually, funds enough to revive the Hwange power plants and deepen the Kariba gorge. 

Privatisation would lower the high levels of corruption and inefficiency currently haunting Zimbabwe. For instance, Mozambique’s Cahora Basa plant is operated by an independent producer and it has been successful in exporting electricity to Southern Africa and was consumers paying US$0.13 per kilowatt by January 2022. This also paid off in Russia (Gazprom), British Petroleum and China where the grid companies control not only the grids’ system operation but also serve as the sole power trader in their geographically separated markets.

However, privatisation, despite being unpopular to the Zimbabwe government is the only way to go. this is despite the operating environment coupled with high taxation regimes and political toxicity which is a total turn-off to investments. 

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