By MILLENNIUM REPORTER
ZAMBIA is intending to cut back on electricity exports with effect from next month and begin securing power from neighboring Mozambique in anticipation of electricity shortages stemming from the El Niño weather phenomenon,Zesco managing director Victor Mapani has announced.
[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”4,5,6″ ihc_mb_template=”2″ ]
Mr Mapani said the El Niño weather phenomenon which often tended to bring hotter, drier weather to parts of Southern Africa was threatening to curb output from Zambia’s hydropower plants.
“It is very worrying…and I think we will definitely be affected,” Mr Mapani said.
Mr Mapani is quoted by Bloomberg saying that, water levels in the country’s reservoirs would definitely dwindle.
“Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, has 3,600 megawatts of installed power generation capacity, 86% of which comes from hydroelectric sources. Minimal electricity restrictions are foreseen within the southern African nation and usage curbs will mainly target mining and industrial customers that don’t pay their bills, Mr Mapani said.
He said the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), which manages the Kariba hydropower dam that Zambia and neighboring Zimbabwe rely on for much of their electricity generation on Tuesday cut the allocation of water each country can use this year to power their turbines by 25 percent.
Mr Mapani also said, Zesco is pushing to commission 500 megawatts of solar power capacity over the next two years, encouraging investors to build wind farms and considering establishing a unit to produce green hydrogen for export.
He further said, the power utility has also engaged Kenya Electricity Generating Company to accelerate plans to produce geothermal electricity and sees output starting within two years.
And the ZRA in a statement said, inflows into the world’s biggest man-made reservoir were lower than expected and its usable water reserves stand at has less than 31 percent of its capacity.
[/ihc-hide-content]
