Zimbabwe Grid Collapse Triggers Nationwide Blackout

Zimbabwe was plunged into darkness on Monday as a technical fault caused the country’s national electricity grid to collapse, cutting power to homes, businesses and essential services.

Electricity was lost throughout the national grid, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said. The blackout began at 6:24 p.m. local time. “The relevant departments were immediately informed and supply restoration work was immediately initiated,” the utility said.

The parent company of ZETDC, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), said the outage was due to a fault in the transmission network. Engineers were sent to find out what caused the failure and to stabilise the grid but authorities have not said when power will be fully restored.

Zimbabwe has been plagued by intermittent power shortages in recent years due to ageing infrastructure and limited generating capacity. Many households and businesses have been switching to diesel generators and solar because of the frequent outages.

Zimbabwe’s electricity is mainly produced by the coal-fired Hwange Power Station and its second largest source is the Kariba Hydroelectric Plant. Electricity generation at Kariba has been reduced due to low water levels associated with prolonged drought and below average rainfall. The full extent of the damage caused by Monday’s blackout is not yet known.

SOURCE: AFP