ZESA Holdings has launched a critical 35-day maintenance programme on Unit 8 at Hwange Thermal Power Station, with similar work scheduled thereafter for Unit 7.
The maintenance, which starts this week, is essential to ensure the long-term reliability of the two units. Known as Class C maintenance, this is the most intensive level of scheduled servicing.
It involves a comprehensive technical inspection, repair, and replacement of key components in turbines, boilers, generators, and auxiliary equipment to restore the units to peak performance.
Unlike routine servicing, Class C maintenance is a deep technical overhaul. It will temporarily remove a significant portion of electricity generation from the national grid.
To address the shortfall, ZESA has mobilised US$12 million to increase electricity imports from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
Speaking to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Energy and Power Development in Hwange on Saturday, ZESA Holdings Acting CEO Cletus Nyachowe, said:
“We have put together a fund, some US$12 million, and we will use this for the Southern African Power Pool.
“So, this Power Pool energy is traded, and we will be buying energy on the day-ahead market.
“So, it is like a stock exchange. You bid for energy that you want tomorrow, and when you get it, you pay.”
Units 7 and 8 at Hwange, which together generate 600 MW, nearly half of Zimbabwe’s electricity, were commissioned in 2023.
Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) Acting Managing Director Fannie Mavhondo said that during the maintenance of Units 8 and 7, an additional 120 MW will be generated from Kariba Power Station to help meet demand until the end of the year.
Mavhondo added that the timing of the outages is strategic, coinciding with the traditional dip in electricity demand over the Christmas period as industries scale down operations.
Herald (C)