We may shut down Kariba Power Station by 14th September-ZESCO
POWER SUPPLY OUTLOOK FOR SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2024
Lusaka, 26 August 2024 – ZESCO Limited (ZESCO”) anticipates a significant power supply gap from the month of September 2024 owing to the growing drought induced hydropower generation deficit which presently stands at 1086 Megawatts (MW) for August 2024 and 1280MW for September 2024.
The expected power supply gap during September is attributed in part to the following factors:
1. Annual plant maintenance by Maamba Energy Maamba Energy, one of the Independent Power Producers with a total installed power generation capacity of 300MW, has scheduled annual plant maintenance to be undertaken in the following phases:
Phase 1: From 27 August to 10 September 2024, 150 MW of generation capacity will be unavailable.
Phase 2: From 16 September to 30 September 2024, another 150 MW will be offline.
2. Reduced power generation at Kariba North Bank Complex
As of 23 August 2024, Lake Kariba’s water level stands at 476.81 meters above sea level (masl), representing only 9.05% of the reservoir’s storage capacity- a sharp decline from last year’s 27.53% storage capacity.
With water resources nearing the minimum operating level, ZESCO faces the imminent challenge of potentially exhausting the remaining water reserves by 14 September 2024, which could lead to the Kariba North Bank Power Station shutting down.
3. Other factors
ZESCO’s power supplies are a mix of its own predominantly hydro based sources, solar and thermal sources from Independent Power Producers and imports from the Southern African Power Pool.
However, the Corporation is experiencing import route constraints (like on Namibian route), equipment failure due to faults and acts of vandalism, all of which factors cause further system strain especially during the morning peak demand period of 05:00 hours to 10:00 hours and the evening peak of 17:00 hours to 22:00 hours.