Zimbabwe: Eskom Relaxes Zesa Power Import Terms

9 January 2017

SOUTH African power utility, Eskom has relaxed its position regarding earlier demands for Zesa Holdings to pay for power imports in advance. The power utility imports 50 megawatts from its South African counterpart during peak periods of demand and up to 300MW during off peak periods.This is because demand for power outstrips supply in Zimbabwe owing to limited generation, with most power plants having lived beyond their lifespan. It is understood Eskom, although it sometimes faces severe supply deficits, exports power to Zimbabwe to get hard currency at a time the rand is weak.

Eskom demanded that Zesa pays for power imports ahead of supply after the power utility struggled to settle bills for the electricity supplies from South Africa. As such, Zesa was paying upfront an average of $6,5 million per month to Eskom and broke the monthly bill into weekly instalments due to cash constraints.

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