Harare – Zimbabwe’s power utility has said the country suffered a nationwide electricity blackout on Thursday.
”The system disturbance occurred at 2pm today, Thursday 3 July,” the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority said in a statement.
“This resulted in a loss of generation at both Kariba and Hwange Power Stations.
“In addition, interconnections with National Transmission (South Africa), ZESCO (Zambia) and HCB (Mozambique) were also simultaneously lost.”
ZESA said efforts to restore power were being made.
”Restoration efforts are ongoing, and power has already been successfully restored to some areas. Our teams are working tirelessly to bring the remaining affected areas back online in the shortest possible time,” the power utility said.
Zimbabwe requires a paltry 2100 MW at peak but it produces around 1600 MW.
The electricity comes mainly from thermal powered Hwange and Kariba hydro-power station.
Businesses and ordinary power consumers have been investing in generators and solar systems to power their business and households.