HARARE – Zimbabwe plans to become self-sufficient in electricity by 2030, the information minister announced on Tuesday. Jenfan Muswere said the Cabinet approved a roadmap that aims to increase local generation capacity and reduce dependence on imports.
According to the minister of energy and power development, Edgar Moyo, Zimbabwe currently produces 1 280 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which is less than the average demand of 1 850MW. The country imports between 200 and 500MW to cover the shortfall.
Muswere said the government will take several steps to improve the situation, such as restructuring the state-owned power utility company (ZESA), decommissioning and repurposing old thermal power stations, reducing power losses and encouraging energy saving initiatives. He also said the government will support private sector coal mining projects and new technologies such as green hydrogen, floating solar panels, battery energy storage systems and renewable energy projects across the country.
The country is currently facing a severe power crisis that is affecting production and industry.
Many parts of the country are experiencing 15-hour load shedding, which is the deliberate shutdown of electric power in a part or parts of a power-distribution system, generally to prevent the failure of the entire system when the demand strains the capacity of the system.
