Farai Mabeza
Zimbabwe is conserving water at Kariba Dam and increasing generation from Hwange Power Station as it prepares for the possibility of an El Niño-induced drought during the upcoming rainy season.
ZESA chief executive Cletus Nyachowe said the power utility was taking measures to protect electricity generation capacity amid forecasts of potentially below-average rainfall.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo (ZICE) 2026, Nyachowe said water levels at Kariba had improved significantly compared to the previous year, when the dam closed at only about 5% of live storage capacity.
“We are carefully managing the water consumption this year, between us and ZESCO of Zambia. We will close the year at about 24%, which is quite a strong storage for us to go into next year,” he said.
“So we haven\'t gone full blast this year. We are conserving water in Kariba Dam.”
ZESA is also seeking to reduce its dependence on hydroelectric power by improving the performance of its thermal generation fleet.
Nyachowe said maintenance work at Hwange Units 1 to 6 was being intensified, with output currently approaching 500 megawatts — roughly double the plant\'s typical output of around 250MW.
“We are also upping our maintenance at Hwange 1 to 6. We are improving the output,” he said.
The utility is also accelerating solar power projects as part of its preparations.
“And of course, we\'ll be aggressive on the solar projects,” Nyachowe said, acknowledging that some projects could be delayed but would still add capacity as they come online.
The measures come as Zimbabwe prepares for a potentially challenging hydrological season, with lower rainfall raising concerns over water availability for Kariba\'s power generation operations.
The strategy reflects a broader effort to diversify the country\'s electricity mix while improving the reliability of existing generation assets.
