Zimbabwe’s state owned power utility, ZESA, says electricity has been restored to most parts of the country after a fault on a major transmission line triggered a nationwide blackout on Monday evening. The outage, which began at 6:24 p.m. local time, was caused by a fault on the Warren to Alaska 330 kilovolt transmission line, disrupting power interconnections with neighbouring utilities and forcing local generation units offline due to voltage instability and under frequency.
According to ZESA, power was restored to most areas by 10:00 p.m. through electricity supplied by South Africa’s Eskom, the Kariba Power Station, Hydro Cahora Bassa, and three operational units at Hwange Power Station. The utility said engineers continue to work on synchronizing the remaining generation units at Hwange while also repairing equipment at the Warren substation, which serves parts of the capital, Harare.
The blackout temporarily disrupted businesses, public services, and households across Zimbabwe, highlighting the vulnerability of the country’s electricity network. Authorities have assured residents that efforts are ongoing to fully stabilize the national grid and restore normal operations in all affected areas.
Zimbabwe has struggled with chronic electricity shortages for years due to ageing infrastructure, limited domestic generation capacity, and foreign currency shortages that have restricted its ability to import electricity from neighbouring countries. Energy experts say sustained investment in power generation and transmission infrastructure will be essential to improving the reliability of the country’s electricity supply and reducing the likelihood of future nationwide outages.
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