Substation fault hits national grid in Zimbabwe
A major technical fault at the Insukamini substation in Bulawayo triggered countrywide loss of power on the morning of January 4.
Image for illustration purposes.
Zimbabwe, Harare: A major technical fault at the Insukamini substation in Bulawayo triggered countrywide loss of power on the morning of January 4.
This, in turn, caused a loss of production time by businesses lasting up to noon. Several businesses failed to commence operations due to the power outage, save for those with generators who however said they incurred huge costs. Motorists also had a difficult time driving through busy intersections in the morning as all traffic lights were not functioning. ZESA confirmed the loss of power.
“ZESA Holdings would like to inform its valued customers that the national grid experienced a system surge this morning at 05.22 hrs, which was triggered by a busbar fault at the Insukamini 330kv substation in Bulawayo,” said the power utility in a statement.
“This led to a loss of power in the national grid. Power has since been restored to most parts of the country and our technical teams are on the ground to ensure full restoration of service in the shortest time.”
Among others, residents also expressed concern over the power outage. Mrs Edith Zhou said she had stocked meat to last her through January but feared that power cuts could result in a loss. Another resident, Ms Gladys Ndlovu, said she is taking diabetes medication so she has to keep her injection in the fridge. She said she was worried when she heard that the power outage was countrywide.
Last year the Government commissioned Unit 7 and 8, a component of the US$1,4 billion Hwange expansion project which has added 600MW into the national grid. This has seen a tremendous improvement in power generation hence load shedding was now a thing of the past.
Source: herald.co.zw
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