ZESA Holdings has announced that Hwange Unit 8 has been taken offline due to a technical fault and will be out of service for 10 days while repairs are carried out.
Unit 8 is a new, large-scale generator added as part of the Hwange Thermal Power Station’s expansion project, with a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW).
It is one of two new units, Unit 7 and Unit 8, that were added during Phase III of the expansion, boosting Hwange’s total capacity from 920 MW to 1,520 MW. Together, the two units contribute 600 MW to the national grid.
In recent days, power generation at Hwange has dropped from more than 1,000 MW on 15 October to 757 MW on 21 October.
In a notice issued on Monday, 20 October, ZESA said Hwange Unit 7 will continue generating 335 MW to help maintain system stability.
ZESA added that power generation at Kariba South has also been increased, with careful management of water levels, to help cover the temporary shortfall. Reads the notice:
“ZESA Holdings wishes to inform its valued stakeholders that Hwange Unit 8 has been taken off the grid due to a technical fault.
“The unit will be out of service for 10 days while restoration work is carried out. During this outage, Hwange Unit 7 will remain in operation, generating 335MW to support system stability.
“Generation at Kariba South Power Station has also been ramped up, with careful management of water allocations, to help compensate for the temporary shortfall.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we work to restore the unit to service.”
