Staff Reporter

Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) is now finalising coal purchasing contracts with two local mining companies.

Once finalised, this deal will see the commencement of coal supply to Hwange Power Plants seven and eight.

According to a source, ZPC is engaged in polishing of finer details of payment for the supply of coal by Hwange Colliery Company (HCCL) and Turbo Mine to ensure the full utilization of Hwange Plants 7 and 8 for the next 25 years.

“We have already managed to identify Hwange Colliery and Turbo Mine as our potential suppliers of coal for plant 7 and 8 for the next 25 years. Now as ZPC, we are finalising on finer details of the contract,” said the source.

The source also revealed that there were three modes of payment that were being tabled before the deal can be put to pen.

“According to payment proposals by ZPC, first option of payment is that, should payment be in full US$ then cost per tonne should be US$30, second option is that, should the payment be 50% ZWL and 50%US$ then price should be US$33 per tonne and the last option is that, should the payment be in ZWL then cost should be between US$35 and US$37 per tonne,” the source added.

If put to pen, Hwange plants 7 and 8 will add a massive 660MW to the national grid, thus easing off demand for power as Zimbabwe’s industry is rapidly growing.

The Second Republic has embarked on the expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station so as to boost power on the national grid. In the expansion project, Power Plant 7 is expected to come online before end of the year whilst Plant 8 is expected to come online in March 2023. Government is also refurbishing Kariba Hydro-Power Station and reshaping Kariba plunge pools so as to increase output of power generation.