Source: Upgrade of Hwange thermal station’s old units begins | The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu
Chief Reporter
OFFICIALS from India’s power generation firm Jindal Steel and Power Company, which has been contracted by the Government to upgrade and modernise six aged generation units at the Hwange Thermal Power Station, are finalising assessments of the scope of works and signing of contracts ahead of commencement of the repowering project at the beginning of next year.
The Hwange repowering project is expected to increase the units’ output from the current 300 megawatts (MW) to over 800MW, significantly enhancing the country’s power generation capacity.
The six units, commissioned between 1983 and 1989 with a combined capacity of 920MW, have suffered from mechanical faults due to ageing, and the refurbishment is expected to extend their lifespan by 15 to 20 years, pushing the station’s daily power output closer to 1 500MW.
The project, which will be undertaken in phases for a period spanning 36 to 48 months, involves replacing outdated turbines, generators and other components with modern, efficient technologies.
Advanced control systems will also be implemented to optimise operations, reduce energy consumption and improve overall efficiency. Work will be carried out one unit at a time to ensure continued power supply for domestic and industrial use.
Work on Unit 5 has already started, using internal resources and a loan from a local financier, and is expected to be completed by August next year.
Energy and Power Development Minister Edgar Moyo told The Sunday Mail that the initiative is part of the Government’s broader efforts to augment power generation, reduce load-shedding and lessen reliance on imports.
“Our strategy is to refurbish Hwange Units 1 to 6, and we are already refurbishing Unit 5, which we expect to be completed by August 2025,” he said.
“The power units are old and they require constant repairing.
“However, the Indian company, Jindal, which was contracted for the Hwange repowering, is now in the country and they are doing their final due diligence. They are expected to sign their contracts before the end of the year and will start work during the first quarter of next year.”
A senior Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) official, who is a member of the team leading the project but spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity, said: “The units are old and they can no longer produce 300MW from an installed capacity of 920MW. They are no longer functioning at optimum capacity. So, what we want to do is to change some of the components, which include the turbines and maybe the generators.
“It will obviously not be all the equipment on the units that will be replaced, but we hope that the equipment that will be replaced will ensure power generation increases to 800MW from all the six units.
“The company will work one unit at a time to ensure that all the six units are not switched off at once.”
Turning to the current power situation, Minister Moyo said the Government will not increase power imports in the short term since load-shedding is expected to ease in the next few weeks.
“We usually increase imports when the power situation is bad, but normally, this is not ideal since we will be losing foreign currency,” added Minister Moyo.
“So, we are maintaining the 200MW that we are currently importing.
“However, we expect load-shedding to ease in the coming weeks, especially when industries close for the festive season — there will be less demand on the grid.
“We were also allocated 27 billion cubic metres of water to share by the Zambezi River Authority, so this will be shared between Zimbabwe and Zambia for 2025.
“We expect that water levels in Kariba will start increasing between January and February and we will start using the allocated water, and this will increase power generated at Kariba.”
As of Friday, Zimbabwe was generating 1 178MW, with Hwange contributing 1 004MW, Kariba 124MW, and independent power producers 50MW.
Peak demand stands at 1 800MW.
Despite challenges posed by the El Niño weather phenomenon, national generation capacity averages 800MW-1 000MW daily, buoyed by the synchronisation of Hwange Units 7 and 8 in 2023.
Newer Post
‘Bonus payments won’t affect prices’ Older Post
US$2m Zesa equipment lost to theft
COMMENTS