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Zimbabwe pays debt to ease power crisis
ZIMBABWE
ZIMBABWE plans to resume paying its power debts in a bid to raise imports to 700 MW and to bring the current power crisis to an end.
George Guvamatanga, Secretary at the Finance Ministry, said on August 6 that the gov- ernment had agreed to make weekly US dollar payments to an unnamed regional power utility.
is would also allow the country to raise imports from the current 300 MW from the end of the week, potentially reaching 700 MW by the end of the month.
The country’s current power crisis, with power cuts lasting up to 18 hours per day, began in 2017 when the country’s traditional suppliers, South Africa’s Eskom and Mozambique’s Hydro Cahora Bassa, cut supplies because of unpaid bills.
According to the government, Zimbabwe owes more than $70m to Eskom and Hydro Cahora Bassa.
“Working with the mining sector we have been able to ring-fence adequate resources to pay foratleast400megawattsofelectricityamonth,” Guvamatanga said.
“I think the arrangement that we have put in place now on electricity should hopefully guar- antee us increased supply from tomorrow or
Wednesday.”
e news followed Zimbabwean utility ZESA
Holdings’ announcement at the end of July that it would source 300 MW during o -peak hours from the Southern African Power Pool.
Guvamatanga said for now Zimbabwe would have to rely on electricity imports, which require foreign currency that is in short supply.
Last week Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced a three-fold hike in electricity tari s as the government seeks to raise more funds for power generation.
e country is also relying on the construc- tion of the Chinese- nanced 2.4-GW Batoka Gorge HPP on the Zambesi River. GE Power and Power Construction Corp. of China aim to begin work on the $4.5bn project by 2020.
Both GE and China Power will provide the bulk of the funding, supported by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
In Zimbabwe, current capacity theoretically standsat2,016MW,wellbelowcurrentdemand, while imports from South Africa have fallen to 50 MW because of $20mn in unpaid bills to South Africa and Mozambique.™
RENEWABLES
Nigeria boosts rural power access
NIGERIA
NIGERIAN Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has opened a 2.8-MW solar hybrid power project at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University as part of the government’s rural electri cation drive.
e project, which will replace 1.54 MW of diesel units at the university, is the largest pro- ject so far commissioned by the Rural Electri- cation Agency’s (REA) Energising Education Programme (EEP).
e solar project, which will also have diesel backup, will provide electricity to 7,700 stu- dents and 1,819 sta members, the REA said in a statement.
“ is programme will undoubtedly improve the quality of education, research and health care services at our federal universities and teaching hospitals,” said REA managing director Damilola Ogunbiyi.
e solar hybrid system is an example of how mini-grids can bring a ordable and clean energy to o -grid areas. It lessens the need for diesel generators and provides access to electricity for more people.
e REA aims to achieve 60% rural electri- cation by 2020, and to connect 1.1mn rural households between 2015 and 2020. Crucially,
it wants the tari s charged by such projects to be cost-re ective, making them more attractive to investors, cutting government subsidies and making them more transparent.
Deepak akur, CEO of the EPC contractor Sterling & Wilson, said: “ e installed 2.8-MW solar hybrid power plant will decommission petrol and diesel generators with a capacity of 1.54 MW, creating a cleaner and environmen- tally friendly atmosphere for the university community.”
Nigeria was recently criticised by the Euro- pean Union report about its renewables progress. In an evaluation report, the EU said that Nigeria could do a lot more to boost renewa- ble energy, especially in the areas of solar and hydro generation. It should use the off-grid power distribution model to reach its vast rural
population.
The EU is to provide $33.9mn of funding
to support the development of o -grid power projects in rural and urban Nigeria. e EU’s Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI Nigeria) aims to ll the gaps le by the country’s grid system, which has le more than half of the 190mn population without access to power.™
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