National Outage Caused by a System Disturbance, ZESA

By Effort Moyo

Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has responded to a nationwide power outage that plunged Zimbabwe into darkness yesterday, further exacerbating the country’s ongoing electricity crisis.

ZESA confirmed the outage, attributing it to a system disturbance. In a statement posted on their X page, ZESA assured customers that engineers were working swiftly to restore power. By Monday morning, most load centers had been reconnected.

This outage highlights the severe power shortages Zimbabwe is facing, with load shedding reaching up to 18 hours a day. The crisis is largely attributed to dwindling water levels at the Kariba Dam, which supplies hydropower to both Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has linked the issue to drought and climate change, which have reduced the dam’s capacity.

Zambia also experienced a nationwide blackout.