Load-shedding to worsen in 2015

News
LOAD-SHEDDING in the region will intensify next year amid revelations the region is producing less than 1 200 megawatts (MW), compared to 2 800MW needed to meet to meet demand, it has be learnt.

LOAD-SHEDDING in the region will intensify next year amid revelations the region is producing less than 1 200 megawatts (MW), compared to 2 800MW needed to meet to meet demand, it has be learnt.

Nokuthaba Dlamini/ Ruth Ngwenya

Speaking at the Regional Electricity Association of Southern Africa annual general meeting held in Victoria Falls on Tuesday, Lawrence Musaba of the Southern African Power Pool said the region had failed to provide sufficient electricity to its consumers due to depressed production.

“Next year the demand is going to rise because we are developing nations and our demand is always rising every year, but the capacity will remain at the same level,” he warned.

“It will still be less because we won’t be able to commission anything.

“We will continue load-shedding because we are at a time when everybody needs electricity and it has to be shared equally.”

Musaba said governments in the region were implementing a number of projects, but it was difficult to complete them.

“We have not been able to commission enough megawatts,” he said. “We are currently producing less than 1 200MW per year, which is not enough compared to the rising demand, which is rising to 2 800MW per annum and that means every year we have a shortage of more than 1 600MW in terms of value.”

However, Musaba assured the region that the electricity shortages would end at the beginning of 2018.

“In 2018, we are expecting to have commissioned the projects that we are working on,” he said.

“We aiming to be generating about 28 000MW due to population rising and growing economies. However, this can be achieved through the projects that we embark on in the region, for example, in Zimbabwe we embarked on Kariba South extension and Batoka Gorge that is between Zambia and Zimbabwe and as a result we will be able to overcome the deficit.”

Musaba said electricity rationing had tremendously affected agriculture industries.

He urged the whole region to share the energy equally and added that laws must be put to reinforce electricity distribution management.