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Zimbabwe in the dark
22/04/2005 20:46 - (SA)
Harare - Failures in generators at power stations and a fault in a line connecting Zimbabwe with a power grid in Congo are responsible for two days of nationwide electrical blackouts, officials told state radio on Friday.
The power cuts caused lifts in buildings to stop working, traffic lights to go out, cafes and restaurants to close and cinemas to send patrons away.
A spokesperson for the state electrical authority told state radio that the blackouts were caused by generator failures at the Hwange coal fired power station west of Harare and at the Kariba hydro-electric power scheme on the Zambezi River. He said there was also a fault in the connection to the grid in Congo.
Many areas of the capital were without power for 12 hours on Friday, bringing work to a standstill in offices that depend on computer equipment.
The electric authority spokespersonn said further "load shedding" must be expected, as the country is going into its coldest season.
"The region has run out of power to export to countries such as Zimbabwe," the spokesperson told state radio.
President Robert Mugabe 10 years ago vetoed Western companies' competing plans for massive upgrading of Hwange power station in favour of his own scheme to give the project to a Malaysian consortium. The scheme was never followed through.
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