Load shedding underway

Zimbabwe has started rolling power cuts lasting up to eight hours that will also hit mines as a result of reduced output at both the largest hydro plant and ageing coal-fired generators. A report on the EWN site notes that the power cuts will add to mounting public anger against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Government as Zimbabweans grapple with an economic crisis that has seen shortages of US dollars, fuel, food and medicines as well as soaring inflation. The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said ‘the power shortfall is being managed through load shedding in order to balance the power supply available and the demand’. Zimbabwe last experienced its worst power shortages in 2016 following a devastating drought.