Senate raises alarm over Hwange plant failures and unpaid public-sector bills
Image Source: Zimbabwe Power Company
Senate Watch
HWANGE — Parliament has been told that Hwange Thermal Power Station remains critical to Zimbabwe’s electricity supply despite ageing equipment, recurring faults and a mounting debt burden that has constrained maintenance and procurement of spare parts.
The concerns were raised in a Senate committee report on energy security tabled on Tuesday.
The Thematic Committee on Peace and Security reported that Hwange Thermal Power Station has installed capacity of more than 1,500 megawatts across Hwange Electricity Supply Company (HESCO) Units 7 and 8 and Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) Units 1 to 6. But the older ZPC units were producing about 350MW against their installed capacity of 920MW, the report said.
“HESCO ‘bathtub curve’ failures” including pump-bearing problems, fuel leaks and cooling-tower defects were among the issues recorded during the committee’s visit, while the older ZPC units faced boiler-tube leaks and deferred maintenance.
The committee further said government ministries, local authorities and parastatals owed Hwange’s HESCO operation US$188 million as of February 2026.
Senator Chapfudza told the Senate that the country could not abandon its existing baseload generating assets while expanding renewable energy.
“Zimbabwe cannot immediately abandon its existing base load generation capacity,” he said.
“The report correctly observes that the country remains heavily dependent on Hwange Power Station and Kariba South Hydro Power Station.”
He said delays in rehabilitating Hwange’s older units posed a threat to national energy security.
“Our immediate objective should be to ensure that existing generation assets operate efficiently while we progressively increase renewable generation,” Chapfudza said.
The report identified a lack of long-term coal supply contracts as another vulnerability, alongside cash-flow difficulties and a China Exim Bank loan default that was said to be limiting the procurement of spare parts.
The committee recommended that the Energy and Power Development Ministry, ZPC and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company expedite the rehabilitation of Hwange Units 1 to 6 by June 30, 2027.
It further recommended that the Finance Ministry restructure ZESA’s legacy debt and Hwange’s HESCO debt, while ensuring bankable power-purchase agreements and arrangements for foreign currency needed for imports and debt servicing.
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