POWER utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Holdings says the restoration of electricity supplies from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia will help alleviate the power cuts which have delivered a blow to Zimbabwe's already battered economy.

Zimbabwe's power crisis has been aggravated by problems facing regional utilities to satisfy the growing demand.

Members under the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) are struggling to contain growing demand resulting in some of the regional utilities cutting down on exports.

ZESA used to import power from DRC's Snel but supplies were stopped owing to a technical and supply and demand problems faced by the company.

Fullard Gwasira, ZESA spokesperson told Standardbusiness the struggling parastatal had a power purchase agreement with Snel and Zambia Electricity Supply Company (ZESCO) that runs until next year.

"However, once the technical fault has been repaired, normal imports will resume from Snel as it has always shared a cordial business relationship with ZESA Holdings," he said. "We actually have a power purchasing agreement with Snel into 2009."

Gwasira said ZESA has in the past imported from ZESCO as well as using the utility as a conduit for imports from the DRC.

"ZESA is currently not getting electricity supplies from Zambia due to the fact that ZESCO is currently refurbishing their system, just like we are doing, and are thus not in a position to export power until they have completed the refurbishment," he said.

Gwasira said the temporary interruption of electricity supplies from Snel had an effect on the severity of load-shedding "and the local power supply challenges should be viewed from such a broader picture encompassing SAPP, to appreciate that the local power utility does not operate in isolation".

"The eventual position is that a challenge of one utility translates into a challenge of the other utility as well," he said.

In the absence of imports from Snel and ZESCO, ZESA, has been relying on imports from Mozambique's Hydro Cahora Bassa (HCB). Once the country's saviour, HCB, has become impatient with ZESA's delays in payment and resorted to switching off the power utility.

HCB supplies ZESA with 185 MW.

Locally, ZESA Holdings is generating an average of about 1050MW from its electricity generating power stations at Hwange and Kariba. The small thermal power stations have not been generating owing to a host of problems. Harare Power station, which was generating 25MW recently shut down owing to a milling plant problem. The utility's engineers and technicians are currently working on the problem, Gwasira said.

Munyati and Bulawayo power stations have been operating intermittently as and when coal is available.

"ZESA Holdings is pleased to note that coal deliveries are improving as the colliery has taken delivery of conveyor equipment from an external supplier, a factor we communicated in a joint communiqué a month ago as the source of the coal constraint," Gwasira said.

With demand slightly under 2000 MW, it means that at any given time nearly half of the country will be load shed.

Load-shedding by ZESA has been a blow to the economy tottering on the brink of collapse. Faced with incessant power cuts, some sectors have resorted to settling their electricity bills in foreign currency. Regrettably, despite paying in foreign currency, they have not been immune from load shedding. Two weeks ago Collen Gura, Metallon Gold Zimbabwe told a business meeting that despite settling their bills in foreign currency, miners continue experiencing power outages.

But Gwasira was singing from a different song sheet insisting ZESA had fulfilled its end of the bargain by supplying uninterrupted electricity to customers paying their bills in foreign currency.

"... not all mining houses are part of this scheme," he said. "Those who are outside this scheme unfortunately are affected by load-shedding whenever demand outstrips supply."