Zimbabwe faces prolonged power outages after a surge in electricity imports from neighboring South Africa overloaded its network and caused generating plants to fail, Energy Minister Soda Zhemu said. The surge caused a nationwide blackout in the early hours of Monday, as it affected output at the Kariba hydropower plant and the coal-fired Hwange facility, Zhemu said by phone Monday from the capital, Harare. Kariba produces 1,014 megawatts of electricity, compared with national consumption of about 2,000 megawatts, according to the Zimbabwe Power Company's website. Zimbabwe doesn’t produce enough of its own power and relies on imports from neighboring South Africa and Mozambique to meet demand. In parts of the city center in Harare on Monday, businesses were using diesel generators to run their operations.

Source: News 24 June 29, 2021 05:37 UTC