Zimbabwe Energy Situation

Zimbabwe
Flag of Zimbabwe	Location of Zimbabwe
Capital	Harare
Official language(s)	Chewa, Chibarwe, English Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani Shona, Sign language Sotho, Tonga, Tswana Venda, Xhosa
Government	Presidential System
President	Robert Gabriel Mugabe
Total area	390,757 km2
Population	12 973 808 (2012 Estimate)
Rural population	7756587.12 (2010)
GDP (nominal)	US$ 10.978 billion (2013 Estimate)
GDP Per capita	US$ 589 (2013 Estimate)
Currency	Various
Time zone	Central Africa Time (UTC+2)
Electricity generation	7.8084 billion kilowatthours (2010)
Access to Electricity	National: 41.5% Urban: 80% Rural: 19%
Wind energy (installed capacity)	MW(Year)
Solar Energy (installed capacity)	MW (Year)

Overview

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It shares its borders with Zambia to the northwest, Mozambique to the east, South Africa in the south and Botswana in the southwest. The capital city is Harare. Much of Zimbabwe is elevated in the high veld/central plateau that stretches from the southwest to the northwest at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,600 meters. The world’s largest curtain of falling water the Victoria Falls is located in the northwest of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe relies on hydroelectric power. In rural parts of the country, 80-90% of the people depend on wood fuel and kerosene for cooking lighting. Food processing tasks like milling grain are usually carried out with diesel-powered system.

Total electricity generation in 2009 was 7,900 gigawatt hours (Gwh). 53% of this was produced from renewable sources. Electricity consumption per capita in 2009 stood at 1,022-kilowatt hours (kWh). 33.9% of this total installed capacity was from hydroelectric plants.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. Available at: http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=ZI#elec

Energy Production
2005	2007	2008	2009	2010
5,801.0 GWh Total hydropower electricity generation	4,541.0 GWh Total hydropower electricity generation	4,263.0 GWh Total hydropower electricity generation	4,202.0 GWh Total hydropower electricity generation	4,202.0 GWh Total hydropower electricity generation

Energy Sources

Source: Adapted from Reegle. Energy Profile of Zimbabwe. Available at: http://www.reegle.info/countries/zimbabwe-energy-profile/ZW

Hydropower

Zimbabwe has a hydropower potential of 18,500 GWh a year, of which 17,500 GWh is technically feasible. To date about 19% of the technically feasible potential has already been exploited.
Rusitu Hydro, a mini hydro plant of 750kW operated privately sells power to the state-owned company, Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority Holdings (ZESA). The government is also planning to add a further 5 MW of small-hydro. About 8 small-hydro plants are currently installed, ranging from 3 kW to over 700 kW. The total potential of small-hydro in Zimbabwe is estimated at 120 MW. Gairezi, which is located in the Nyanga district is particularly promising, with an estimate 30 MW of potential capacity.

Solar Energy

The average solar insulation in Zimbabwe is 5.7 kWh/m2/day. There is an enormous potential for use of solar PV and solar water heaters that has not yet been exploited. Technically, solar PV has a potential of 300 MW. At present only 1% of the technical potential for solar water heaters has been exploited. Solar power is mostly installed in rural areas of Zimbabwe at service centers such as schools, clinics, police stations and hospitals. However, the private home market for solar is growing. Solar-powered ‘base stations’ for charging electrical appliances have also been installed through the national telecommunications company NetOne.

Wind Energy

The average wind speed in Zimbabwe is estimated to be 3.5 m/s. A non-governmental organization called ZERO conducted a number of feasibility studies and also financed the production of 1 and 4 kW wind turbines for off-grid use and for providing power to municipal buildings.
In the areas of Bulawayo and the Eastern Highlands, there is potential for power generation from wind turbines because these regions have the most prevalent wind speeds ranging from 4 to 6 m/s.

Geothermal Energy

In 1985 the geothermal potential was acknowledged as being 50 MW. Currently not much else is known about the potential of geothermal. Due to Zimbabwes’s proximity to the Rift Valley region, it is reasonable to assume that geothermal power generation can be applied.

Policy Framework, Laws and Regulations

Important Laws and Regulations

The legislation that governs the electricity supply industry in Zimbabwe is the Electricity Act (Chapter 13:19) and Rural Electrification Fund Act (Chapter 13:20) of 2002. The Electricity Act created ZERC and provided the legal framework for the unbundling of the state-owned utility, ZESA.

Renewable Energy Policies in Zimbabwe
National Energy Policy (2012)	Policy support and strategic planning for multiple RE sources. The objectives of the Energy Policy are: to ensure accelerated economic development to facilitate rural development to promote small-medium scale enterprises to ensure environmentally friendly energy development, and to ensure efficient utilisation of energy resources.
Energy Regulatory Act (2011)	The ZERA (Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority) board issues and withdraws licences from all players in the Electricity, Petroleum and Renewable Energy Sectors. It is also responsible for creating a legal framework for fair competition of both private and public players.
National Electricity Act (2002)	The Electricity Act provided for the establishment of the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission(ZERC). ZERC was responsible for licencing operators in the electricity sector, setting of electricity tariff as well as general regulation of the electricity sector to allow for fair competition in the electricity industry. Since the establishment of ZERA in January 2012, all the duties have been transferrred to ZERA and ZERC dissolved.
Rural Electrification Act (2002)	The Act allowed for the establishment of the Rural Electrification Fund Board responsible for holding and distribution of Rural Electrification Funds for all rural electrification projects countrywide. Allows for the expansion of the national electricity grid to rural government institutions, business centres and chief's homesteads on 100% subsidy and 60% subsidy on other connections. Also provides for decentralised electrication using renewable energy.
Source: IEA. Joint Policies Database. http://www.iea.org/policiesandmeasures/renewableenergy/?country=Zimbabwe

The Ministry of Energy and Power Development is still developing a Renewable Energy Policy. This is being addressed through a number of initiatives.

The Electricity Regulatory Bill, currently awaiting Presidential signature, specifically provides for “the identification and promotion of the employment and development of sources of renewable energy”.

Specific Strategies

(Biomass, Renewable Energies, Rural Electrification, Energy Access Strategy, Poverty Reduction Strategy etc.)