Zimbabwe Eyes Stakes in Neighbors’ Hydropower Plants

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HARARE (Capital Martkets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s state electricity utility is in talks to invest in hydropower plants in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, or alternatively buy their output to ease crippling energy shortages.

The southern African nation has an installed generation capacity of 2,100 megawatts, but on average generates less than two two-thirds of that. While it already imports electricity from neighboring countries, outages remain commonplace. Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority “is pursuing opportunities to participate in other hydropower projects in the region,” George Manyaya, the utility’s stakeholder relations and communications manager, said in an interview in the northwestern town of Hwange. He declined to provide details.

A feasibility study of a 1,200 megawatts hydropower plant in the Devil’s Gorge on the Zambezi River is also planned, while a separate 300-megawatt project on the river that would be shared with neighboring Zambia is under consideration, according to Manyaya. The Zambezi River Authority is meanwhile updating feasibility studies on another facility — the 2,400-megawatts Batoka Gorge Hydro Electricity Scheme — with a view to building it, he said.

Zimbabwe also wants increase its use of other forms of clean energy and intends seeking bids from independent producers next year to supply it with a total of 500 megawatts of solar power. The project, which envisions the construction of 20- to 30-megawatts plants, has the backing of the World Bank, Manyaya said.

Source: Bloomberg Business News

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