via Faults at Power Stations Trigger countrywide blackout | The Herald May 30, 2014
Electricity supplies were disrupted throughout the country yesterday following faults experienced at the country’s three major power stations. Zesa Holdings said in a statement that the power stations affected were Kariba Hydro-Power Station, Hwange Power Station and Harare Power Station. The cause of the power failure was yet to be ascertained, although Zesa Holdings spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said in a statement that it was caused by “a power system disturbance that originated from outside the country’s borders”.
He said electricity distribution was affected throughout the country.
Technicians were battling to restore normal supplies by yesterday and many areas were expected to receive normal supplies soon.
Only Bulawayo and Munyati thermal power stations were not affected by the technical fault, but they do not have capacity to sufficiently power the country.
Hwange Power Station has the installed capacity of 920 mega watts to the national grid, while Kariba Hydro-Power Station can provide 750 mega watts, with Harare Power Station managing only 90 mega watts.
Zesa Holdings’ subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, has been carrying out planned shutdowns to allow allow maintenance work in most of parts of the country.
The situation has been worsened by the winter season where there is huge demand for electricity.
Areas in Masvingo, Harare and Manicaland provinces were recently affected by such a shutdown.
Zimbabwe affords only 1 300 megawatts of power against a demand of 2 200 megawatts during the peak season like winter.
Zesa Holdings has since embarked on massive power blackouts throughout the country to help serve electricity.
COMMENTS
Zesa holdings said that “a power system disturbance that originated from outside the country’s borders”.
Sort of like Sanctions.. huh?
Take responsibility ! – Isn’t that the meaning of independence?
They cannot even manage the power stations left us by Smith.
Harare Power looks like a ruin!
These incompetents have draged us to unimaginable depths.
they will just put their hands out to scroung for more while they loot from the coffers and go on trips to singapore etc.
Zimbabwe and ZESA power have one thing in common. They are both absolutely stuffed.
Fourth world country. Give me Cuba north Korea Congo Angola equatorial guinea any day !!!!!
Zimbabwe needs 2200 megawatts of power and only produces a maximum of 1760 mgw. You dont have to attend the University of Zimbabwe’s Business school to understand that there is a huge shortage countrywide. Expect many more power failures in the winter months ahead.Foreigners will not give us Electricity free when there is a huge shortage across all of Southern Africa.
Zimbabwean dictionary…. fault(y) – to be incompetent, incapable, not understand, dont care, apathetic, ignorant.
Shutdown on govt
While the rest of the world goes forward we are heading backwards towards the stone age. R.I.P. IDS
If “normal” supply is restore this would be very surprising since it is more than twenty years since supply of electricity was “normal”.
“Outside the country”. Why dont they tell the truth. Escom SA cut off the power for unpaid bills. No doubt they will find the money to get it switched on again, but where will the money come from to pay the armed forced next month?
May the last one to leave please switch off the lights. OOoopppppssssyyyy.
Roving my brother we are not going to turn the lights off. Not whilst people like you and others on this forum are still around. What we will do is turn the lights on. Call me a dreamer if you want but in the very near future this nightmare will be a thing of the past. We will rebuild because we are Zimbabwean. It is in our DNA. That is why we keep on commenting on this forum. You and I sometimes differ in our opinion(regarding certain partys) but my friend what has given me hope is that we get back to the same thing. The desire for Democracy. We will light our candles. We will use our paraffin lamps (even the homemade ones with a wick sticking out of the tin) But we will keep the lights on. Zanu’s lights will soon be switched off.
What did Zimbabwe have before candles – electricity !!!!!!
Yes Phys and we shall have it again. All you have to do is BELIEVE.
I don’t think people comment on this website because the have nothing else to do. I think each and every comment whether positive or negative is done by people who care for this teapot shaped country. A few comment because they are supping with Zanu and would like to keep the same statuesque. Most do because they love this country. We survived the ques. We will survive Zanu. As Zimbabweans we are ONE.
doctor do little – you should take a drive to the Great Zimbabwe ruins and maybe Dhlo dhlo and a few others. Look at the mighty structures there and ask yourself why did these very advance civilisations fail. Why are the stone walls of Zimbabwe so high? Surely the conclusion is that some prosperous and advanced people lived there. Then ask yourself what drove these civilisations to failure. you see it is in the DNA of zimbabweans to destroy and pillage and rape the country they live in. They chase out anything that and anyone thats tries to do good. When they fail like ZANUPF – people will realise that only a fools repeat histrory. Only an idiot makes the same mistake twice. so maybe that is in our DNA – but really do we have to repeat history three times to learn?
I guess so judging by the way Zim is going now.