HARARE – Zimbabwe’s flagship Hwange Power Station expansion has achieved its highest-ever electricity output since coming online last year, generating 498 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in August alone, according to project contractor Power China.
The figure translates to an average of 669 megawatts per day, underscoring the growing contribution of the coal-fired plant’s new units to Zimbabwe’s fragile national grid.
Output rose 2.5 percent month-on-month and 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
Cumulative generation for 2025 now stands at 3.561 billion kWh, Power China said in a statement, hailing the milestone as “critical support for the national grid, easing Zimbabwe’s chronic electricity shortages, and bolstering the country’s economic growth.”
The $1.5 billion expansion project, financed mainly through Chinese loans, added Units 7 and 8 at Hwange, each with a capacity of 300MW. The additional 600MW was touted as a game changer in a country that has suffered rolling blackouts lasting up to 18 hours a day in recent years.
Zimbabwe’s electricity demand hovers between 1,700MW and 2,000MW at peak, but generation has often fallen short, averaging around 1,200MW.
The Kariba hydroelectric plant—traditionally a mainstay of supply—has been crippled by low water levels, leaving thermal plants like Hwange to shoulder the burden.
Energy experts, however, warn that while Hwange’s improved performance offers short-term relief, the country’s ageing power infrastructure, ballooning debt to regional suppliers, and limited investment in renewables continue to expose the economy to energy insecurity.
The government is banking on Hwange’s expansion to stabilise supply in the medium term, while exploring solar projects and further Chinese-backed investments to close the deficit.
The post Hwange expansion hits record power output, easing Zimbabwe’s energy crisis appeared first on Zimbabwe News Now.