Harare — ZESA Holdings Ltd says it will recommission two of the remaining three units at Hwange Power Station, and hope to release an additional 400 megawatts to its generating capacity.

Zesa managing director Engineer Ben Rafemoyo said yesterday that refurbishment of the two units had been completed and the other would be done before year-end.

Under the US$50 million inter-utility deal with NamPower of Namibia, Zesa is renovating units one to four at the Hwange Power Station in exchange for electricity exports to Namibia.

"We have two units that will be re-commissioned in the next two weeks," Engineer Rafemoyo said in a telephone interview yesterday.

"This will bring to three fully completed units under the NamPower deal. The remaining unit will be brought up in December."

NamPower is assisting Zesa to refurbish four units at the giant power plant.

Refurbishment of unit three was completed and re-commissioned early this year.

While other units have been affected by recurrent breakdowns, unit number three has been perfectly operating and operations stop only on coal shortages.

Zesa will armotise the debt through electricity supplies to Namibia at a subsidised rate.

Already, Zesa exports 80MW to Namibia from unit three and exports would simultaneously rise as other units are re-commissioned.

NamPower managing director Mr Paulinus Shilamba said Namibia will be importing 150MW after the completion of other units.

"We will be receiving 150MW when the two units are completed this month," said Mr Shilamba.

He said the power supply situation in Namibia would become stable because of the guaranteed supply of electricity from Hwange.

Meanwhile, Zesa has received an additional US$5,6 million from Zimasco Holdings for the refurbishment of the auxiliary equipment for unit five and six at Hwange Thermal Power Station.

This brings to US$15 million the money that the ferrochrome firm has provided under the deal.

Zimasco is assisting Zesa to complete refurbishment of the units, which started nearly four years ago.

Generators for unit number five and six were rehabilitated in 2004 but work on the auxiliary equipment, which include boiler fit pumps, water treating plant, boiler nose tubes and turbines has not been completed.

Maintenance of units five and six is the second rehabilitation stage of the giant power station after the first stage was done under the US$50 million interutility deal between Namibia Power Company and Zesa.