HARARE
—
The
Zimbabwean
government
says
it
has
approved
a
series
of
measures
to
address
the
country’s
power
supply
shortages
as
extended
daily
blackouts
continue
to
disrupt
homes
and
businesses.
In
a
Cabinet
briefing
Tuesday,
Information
Minister
Jenfan
Muswere
said
the
interventions
aim
to
boost
local
electricity
generation
and
stablize
the
national
grid.
Presently,
Zimbabwe
faces
a
power
generation
deficit
of
up
to
400
megawatts
and
relies
on
importing
between
200
and
500
megawatts
from
neighbouring
countries
to
bridge
the
gap.
The
outages,
which
start
at
6AM.
and
last
until
10PM,
leave
residents
without
power
for
up
to
16
hours
daily.
“Cabinet
approved
a
raft
of
measures
to
enhance
the
country’s
power
security,”
Muswere
said,
outlining
a
strategy
that
includes
the
rehabilitation
of
Hwange
Units
1
to
6
under
a
Build,
Operate,
and
Transfer
arrangement
starting
this
year.
The
plan
also
involves
support
from
the
Mutapa
Investment
Fund
to
provide
foreign
currency
for
Independent
Power
Producers
(IPPs),
which
are
key
to
supplementing
the
nation’s
power
needs.
The
government
will
also
streamline
ZESA
Holdings’
management
and
governance
structure.
The
restructuring
is
expected
to
improve
efficiency
in
the
struggling
Zimbabwe
Electricity
Supply
Authority
(ZESA),
which,
despite
recent
tariff
hikes,
continues
to
face
operational
challenges.
To
address
the
growing
reliance
on
solar
power,
ZESA
has
been
instructed
to
promote
and
simplify
the
net-metering
process,
allowing
solar
users
to
sell
excess
energy
back
to
the
grid.
Muswere
noted
that
this
could
increase
the
uptake
of
solar-generated
electricity,
reducing
pressure
on
the
national
grid.
On
power
losses
during
transmission,
Muswere
announced
that
a
joint
venture
between
ZESA’s
transmission
subsidiary,
ZENT,
and
QLV,
a
local
firm,
will
focus
on
manufacturing
cables
locally
to
minimize
losses
and
combat
theft
and
corruption
in
the
power
sector.
The
prolonged
blackouts
have
prompted
many
Zimbabweans
to
turn
to
alternative
energy
sources,
especially
solar
power.
The
government’s
efforts
to
tackle
the
crisis
are
seen
as
critical
to
achieving
the
country’s
Vision
2030
goal
of
attaining
upper-middle-income
status,
but
public
impatience
is
growing
as
the
energy
crisis
threatens
economic
recovery. Kukurigo
Updates