The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Energy and Power Development recently conducted a critical oversight visit to the ZPC Hwange Power Station today, emphasizing the need for robust action on key national and regional energy projects. The visit marks an important step in strengthening Zimbabwe’s energy security, boosting regional power trading capacity, and ensuring sustainable and reliable power generation for the nation.
Discussions centred on the plant’s current operational status and the progress of several high-impact projects. A major focus was the comprehensive refurbishment of Hwange Units 1 to 6. These older units, commissioned between 1983 and 1989, have been operating at a fraction of their installed capacity of 920 MW due to aging equipment. The committee reviewed the progress of the recently approved Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project with Jindal (Private) Limited, which involves a $455 million investment to rehabilitate these six units over four years under a Rehabilitate, Operate and Transfer (ROT) model. The refurbishment is expected to restore significant capacity, drastically reducing the national load-shedding deficit.
Lawmakers also assessed the initial stages of expanding the station’s capacity through the proposed Units 9 and 10. Following the successful commissioning of Units 7 and 8, the government has initiated development activities for Hwange Units 9 and 10, which will further underwrite the country’s base load and energy mix. Power utility officials outlined plans for these and potentially four more new units (Hwange 9–12), which form part of a long-term strategy to meet the nation’s soaring electricity demand, projected to exceed 5,000 MW by 2030.
Furthermore, the committee scrutinized the status of various Transmission Projects designed to reinforce the national grid. Zimbabwe’s central position in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) makes its transmission infrastructure vital for regional power trading. Reinforcing the grid, including projects like the Alaska-Karoi line, is essential not only for enhancing domestic reliability but also for realizing the country’s potential as a power transfer corridor, thereby improving its regional strategic importance. The committee’s oversight is intended to ensure these capital-intensive projects are executed efficiently and on schedule, aligning with the national imperative for sustained economic growth.