ZRA increases water allocation for power generation at Kariba

By Staff reporter | 18 Jul 2020 at 19:15hrs
Kariba
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has increased water allocation for power generation in Zimbabwe and Zambia following improved water inflows into Lake Kariba.

In its latest update on water levels at Kariba, ZRA announced an upward review of water allocation for power generation at Kariba by four billion cubic meters (4BCM).

The decision, which was taken following the review of the hydrological outlook at the end of the second quarter of the year, is expected to result in increased power generation.

ZRA Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the additional water allocation will be shared equally between the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO), adding that the authority will continue to monitor the hydrological outlook at Kariba.

"Following a review of hydrological outlook at Kariba undertaken at the end of the second quarter of 2020, the Authority has since increased the water allocation for power generation operations at Kariba by four billion cubic metres," said Eng Munodawafa.

According to the authority, the water levels at Kariba Dam which reached a peak of 481.30m on the 30th of June, have however started receding with the downward trend expected to continue until the next rainfall season.

"This is an upward review of the combined water allocation for the year from 23BCM to 27 BCM. The Authority will continue to monitor the hydrological outlook for the Kariba catchment and water levels at the Kariba Dam," he said.

The Kariba Hydropower Plant was upgraded a few years ago to expand capacity to the current 1,050 megawatts from 750 megawatts.

At full capacity, Kariba Dam can hold about 65 billion cubic metres of water.

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