Industry struggling to cope with power cuts

Regular power cuts are the latest burden placed on Zimbabwe's struggling industries, following the introduction of "load-shedding" this month by the cash-strapped Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA). "Due to scarcity of foreign currency ... the importation of power and energy from the external sources have been reduced to levels that necessitate load-shedding at times of peak demand. Consequently, therefore, electricity supplies to our customers may be interrupted daily during periods 06:00 to 11:30 and 17:00 to 20:00," ZESA said in a statement warning of the impending blackouts. "Industry cannot operate without electricity, we are really struggling," a senior Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) official told IRIN. "I don't see it being resolved in the near future, it could even get worse." The Mozambican power utility, Hydro Cahora Bassa, cut exports to Zimbabwe by two-thirds last month as a result of ZESA's inability to meet its foreign exchange payments, news reports said. Local production was also recently affected by a breakdown at the Wankie Colliery, Zimbabwe's sole coal producer, which supplies the coal-fuelled Hwange power station. The CZI official said his organisation was encouraging members to use off-peak hours for production by introducing evening shifts or weekend work. But he noted that planning was being undermined by the unreliability of ZESA's power-shedding schedule for the capital, Harare. "We are just hoping that the government can channel some of the resources from the coming tobacco season towards settling the debt with Mozambique and Eskom [the South African power utility], otherwise the country will grind to a halt," the official commented. He said although no major firm had yet shut down, some small companies had advised the CZI that they would close temporarily while awaiting an improvement in the power situation.