Industry reels under crippling power cuts

CLOUDINE MATOLA

 

Industry is reeling from devastating  power outages, enduring unscheduled load-shedding  lasting up to 16 hours daily, a situation which is endangering capacity to continue operating, Business Times can report.

Rolling power cuts were implemented a few weeks ago by power utility ZESA due to low generation capacity at its Kariba and Hwange power plants.

It also comes after Hwange Unit 7, which was synchronized in March 2023, was taken off the grid by  ZESA for maintenance.  The  low water for  power generation is another reason why the Kariba South Hydroelectric Power Station is not operating at full capacity. The situation has gotten worse because the smaller thermal power plants in Bulawayo, Munyati, and Harare haven’t generated any electricity in months.

Cabinet is  also experiencing severe headaches due to the crisis.  The Cabinet decided this week to try to resolve the crisis by restructuring the power utility and decommissioning and repurposing the smaller thermal power plants.

Captains of industry this week told Business Times that  as a result of the worsening electricity crisis, businesses are now compelled to use costly diesel backup generators.

According to Edgar Moyo, Minister of Energy and Power Development who was grilled in parliament yesterday, the government is unable to predict when load shedding will end.

Power outages are bad for business and the economy, according to Kurai Matsheza, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI). Electricity is a major factor in the growth of the industrial sector. In order to increase production, manufacturing processes rely on electric machines that need power to perform repetitive and precise tasks. Currently, the economy is beginning to suffer from the ongoing power outages.

Costs can be classified as social, indirect, or direct economic.

When evaluating the effects of power outages, indirect and social costs are just as significant.

According to Matsheza, the continuous power outages are severely impairing the operations of these sectors.

Additionally, he stated that the majority of businesses would see an increase in production costs as a result of having to employ expensive alternatives to electricity due to the high price of diesel.

“Most companies have no alternatives to electricity and even those that have got diesel generators will see the cost of production going up,”Matsheza told Business Times.

Without the valuable energy, he said, it is very difficult to function.

“Without electricity, the wheels of industry don’t turn,” he said.

According to Matsheza, these power outages occurred during the busiest season of the year.

He said  CZI has been interacting with the utility and authorities to expeditiously perform the required maintenance, which is what caused the crippling load shedding schedules.

ZESA produces roughly 1,000 MW per day compared to the 1,800 MW national demand.

To cover for the gap, Zimbabwe imports electricity from South Africa power utility, Eskom , Mozambique’s Hydro Cahora Bassa  and ZESCO of Zambia.

However, Zimbabwe is not getting adequate imports  as ZESA entered into non-firm contracts with the regional power utilities, meaning they can only supply electricity  if they have surplus.

Exacerbating the situation is that Eskom and other regional power utilities are also suffering from electricity insufficiency, making it difficult  for them to supply Zimbabwe.

According to Isaac Kwesu, CEO of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, the mining sector has not been immune to power outages.

“The mining industry is experiencing electricity supply outages attributed to the supply gap arising from depressed internal generation against a growing demand. The situation has worsened with the report that the Hwange Unit 7 plant is out  due to routine service,” he said.

According to Kwesu, production has suffered as a result of these power outages, and in an attempt to lessen their effects, production costs have gone up.

“The outages being experienced are resulting in production losses. While some operations have installed backup systems diesel generators and solar power to mitigate the impact of loss of grid supply, this comes at a cost of increased production costs,” he said,

He draws attention to the fact that power tariffs have also been reviewed upward, effectively driving up the cost of electricity.

Kwesu continued, stating that the energy authorities ought to give the mining sector priority when it comes to receiving power at a competitive rate.

 

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