Staff Reporter

The Minister of Energy and Power Development, July Moyo, has confirmed that full electricity supply in parts of Harare and at Hwange Power Station is expected to be restored by Wednesday evening, following two unrelated incidents that led to widespread power outages.

Speaking to the media yesterday, after touring the Highfield substation alongside the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, Minister Moyo explained the nature of the disruptions and the ongoing repair efforts by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA).

Minister Moyo clarified that the fire that damaged the Highfield substation and the technical fault at Hwange Power Station occurred almost simultaneously but were not connected.

“We have been hit by two incidents which are unconnected. First, there was an incident in Hwange where ZESA had to shut down five units, which normally would be working. But Unit 5 has been out of service and is under repair. The other five units were working, but because of an incident which occurred, ZESA felt it was better to stop operations there. So, we lost all the power that normally comes from Units 1 to 4, plus 6,” Minister Moyo said.

He further explained that the shutdown at Hwange was a precautionary measure to avoid worsening the situation, and technical teams had since been deployed to carry out the necessary repairs.

Hwange Power Station, one of the country’s major sources of electricity, has in recent years faced operational setbacks mainly attributed to ageing equipment and limited investment in infrastructure renewal.

Commenting on the fire incident that occurred at the Highfield substation, which plunged several suburbs of Harare into darkness, Minister Moyo said ZESA teams had been working round the clock to restore power to affected areas.

He assured the public that power would be restored in some parts as early as Monday evening, with full restoration targeted for Wednesday night.

“There was a fire which occurred, and it cut off the supply to most of the areas in this vicinity, and because of that, ZESA has been working hard to restore the supply to all the places that are affected right now. As I understand, this evening they are now putting back some units in the substation and they’ll be able to supply immediately. They will only be able to restore everything by Wednesday evening,” the Minister explained. Minister Moyo acknowledged that the recent incidents highlight the urgent need for serious investment across all segments of the energy sector.

“We will do everything to ensure that we restore normalcy. If anything, what has happened has shown us the need for investment in the power stations in the supply chains, the transmission lines, as well as the distribution lines, because these have become very, very old,” he said.

Minister Moyo reiterated Government’s commitment to modernising the country’s power systems and urged the public to be patient as technical teams work to restore supply and address the root causes of the faults.

With Zimbabwe pursuing the Vision 2030 economic blueprint target of becoming an upper-middle-income economy, reliable electricity supply remains a critical enabler for industrialisation, service delivery, and general economic stability.

Meanwhile, residents in affected areas have been urged to exercise caution when power is restored, as fluctuations may occur during the early stages of reconnection.