Zimbabwe Plunges Deeper into Electricity Crisis as Water Levels at Kariba Dam Rise

The Zambezi River Authority has announced that the electricity crisis in Zimbabwe is likely to prolong following an increase in water levels.  

The authority is the agency in charge of Kariba Dam, the biggest hydroelectricity supplier in the region. It is jointly owned by Zimbabwe and neighboring Zambia.

According to multiple news agencies, the authority will stop generating electricity because the water levels are too low.

A letter sent out by the authority says: “Kariba South hydropower station had used more than its 2022 water allocation and that the Kariba Dam’s usable storage was only 4.6 percent full.”

According to Zimbabwe Power Company: “The Kariba South hydropower provides Zimbabwe with about 70 per cent of its electricity and has been producing significantly less than its capacity of 1,050 megawatts in recent years due to receding water levels caused by droughts.”

Kariba plant, the power firm says, has been generating 572 megawatts of the 782 megawatts of electricity produced in the country.

Zambezi River Authority Chief Executive Officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa says Kariba dam is “no longer has any usable water to continue undertaking power generation operations.”

Munodawafa added that: “the authority is left with no choice except to “wholly suspend” power-generation activities pending a review in January when water levels are expected to have improved.”