Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) business development manager Engineer Bernard Chizengeya yesterday expressed fears that Lake Kariba could be decommissioned next month as water levels are fast dwindling.

Electricity generation at Kariba is now down to 180MW, which is not enough to power Harare alone.

Eng Chizengeya said the country may be plunged into darkness by September or beginning of October unless solutions such as sustained imports to complement local generation are implemented.

Speaking at a Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) media workshop in Harare yesterday, Mr Chizengeya said Kariba Dam level is at 478m and power production will cease when it gets to 475m, which is likely to occur in September or October.

“At Kariba Dam, there is a level that cannot be used for power generation. The minimum is 475m level and we are at 478m, which means we are left with only three metres, so by September we may not be able to generate electricity from Kariba,” he said.

Industry has bemoaned power shortages, which have significantly cut down on production and increased cost since alternative energy sources such as generators are unsustainable.

As at yesterday, the national power generation capacity was 746MW against a national demand of 1 700 MW.

Apart from the low water levels, ZPC has bemoaned old machinery and lack of foreign currency for importation of turbines and generators to increase output.

ZESA Holdings is also owed $1,2 billion by power consumers.

Eng Chizengeya pleaded with consumers to pay their bills.

“Debts have crippled ZESA, we should have a culture of paying for what we use,” he said.

Zimbabwe owes South Africa’s Eskom and Mozambique’s Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) about US$74 million, resulting in the two power utilities reducing exports supplies.