Zimbabwe’s state-owned Zesa Holdings escalated power cuts to as long as 24 hours after losing regional power imports, while local generation capacity remains critically constrained.
The power utility has a non-binding agreement to import as much as 400 MW of power from South Africa’s Eskom, which has been unable to meet local demand and has implemented rolling blackouts, now in their sixth day.
“Load-shedding is thus being implemented over and above the advertised schedule,” Zesa said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
The power utility said it will be advising customers of progress on restoration of imports and improved local generation to minimise the effects of load shedding.
Zimbabwe has been experiencing daily outages of as much as 18 hours daily owing to a drought that has slashed its hydropower supply. The situation is exacerbated by frequent breakdowns at its main thermal power station, Hwange.
