Zim could scuttle regional electricity project

HARARE – Crisis-torn Zimbabwe is set to be the stumbling block as southern Africa embarks on an ambitious project to ease power shortages that have gripped the region since last year.

Energy ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) who met in Harare yesterday endorsed a regional plan to avert an impending blackout in the region. The plan envisages the implementation of several short and long-term generation projects expected to contribute close to 40 000 megawatts of electricity to a region fast running out of excess capacity.The projects, to be implemented between now and 2030, would require capital outlay of about US$40 billion to be raised from contributions by the region’s national power utilities and through investments by international partners.The more immediate short-term projects would cost the region around US$7,9 billion.”The SAPP members shall undertake long-term generation projects, which shall add 32 000 MW to the SAPP network at a cost of US$32 billion,” said the ministers in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.Energy industry experts were, however, yesterday cautious about Zimbabwe’s ability to meet its obligations, given its weak financial position.”Obviously there will be questions about where the country will get the funds required as its contribution to this regional project,” a senior Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) official told ZimOnline.This comes amid reports ZESA is broke and cannot meet its operational costs.The Zimbabwean power utility has been unable to procure crucial equipment to connect new residential areas, a development that has forced it to ask customers to purchase their own overhead cables.The central position of Zimbabwe could pose challenges to the programme to boost regional energy security.The regional Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) last December said transmission congestion on Zimbabwe’s ageing power grid was hampering regional trade in electricity.The SAPP comprises countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Zimbabwe is tucked right at the centre of the power pool.Like most major national infrastructure in Zimbabwe, ZESA’s power stations and transmission grid is crumbling due to under-funding and downright neglect as the country grapples a severe economic meltdown described by the World Bank as the worst in the world outside a war zone.Zimbabwean cities have to sometimes go for several days without electricity because of breakdowns at ZESA’s archaic power stations or on the transmission network, while failure by the state energy utility to pay for coal has seen some of its thermal power stations having to operate below capacity at times.ZimOnlineThe plan envisages the implementation of several short and long-term generation projects expected to contribute close to 40 000 megawatts of electricity to a region fast running out of excess capacity.The projects, to be implemented between now and 2030, would require capital outlay of about US$40 billion to be raised from contributions by the region’s national power utilities and through investments by international partners.The more immediate short-term projects would cost the region around US$7,9 billion.”The SAPP members shall undertake long-term generation projects, which shall add 32 000 MW to the SAPP network at a cost of US$32 billion,” said the ministers in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.Energy industry experts were, however, yesterday cautious about Zimbabwe’s ability to meet its obligations, given its weak financial position.”Obviously there will be questions about where the country will get the funds required as its contribution to this regional project,” a senior Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) official told ZimOnline.This comes amid reports ZESA is broke and cannot meet its operational costs.The Zimbabwean power utility has been unable to procure crucial equipment to connect new residential areas, a development that has forced it to ask customers to purchase their own overhead cables.The central position of Zimbabwe could pose challenges to the programme to boost regional energy security.The regional Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) last December said transmission congestion on Zimbabwe’s ageing power grid was hampering regional trade in electricity.The SAPP comprises countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Zimbabwe is tucked right at the centre of the power pool.Like most major national infrastructure in Zimbabwe, ZESA’s power stations and transmission grid is crumbling due to under-funding and downright neglect as the country grapples a severe economic meltdown described by the World Bank as the worst in the world outside a war zone.Zimbabwean cities have to sometimes go for several days without electricity because of breakdowns at ZESA’s archaic power stations or on the transmission network, while failure by the state energy utility to pay for coal has seen some of its thermal power stations having to operate below capacity at times.ZimOnline