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NewsDay

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Zesa Holdings restructuring to commence

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The proposed restructuring of Zesa Holdings to National Grid Services Company (NGSC) is expected to commence as soon as Cabinet approval has been granted, Energy and Power Development minister Elton Mangoma has said.

The proposed restructuring of Zesa Holdings to National Grid Services Company (NGSC) is expected to commence as soon as Cabinet approval has been granted, Energy and Power Development minister Elton Mangoma has said.

Business Reporter

Government in July last year proposed the restructuring of the power utility in a move to make it efficient and responsive to consumers and create space for independent power producers.

“It is proposed that Zesa Holdings be collapsed into a National Grid Services Company (NGSC) and move all the legacy debts to this company. It will be 100% government- owned and will not be privatised. “NGSC will be responsible for transmission, market and systems operation. It will also be responsible for securing reserve supply. “I am waiting for Cabinet approval for the restructuring of Zesa,” Mangoma told NewsDay this week. “We will try to do it as soon possible.”

The proposed restructuring would see ZETDC transforming to Zimbabwe Distribution Company responsible for the distribution of electricity, Zimbabwe Power Company and Zesa Enterprises and Powertel. This would be the third time that Zesa Holdings would be restructured after it was unbundled in 1997 and in 2006.

“Zesa Holding was supposed to be only an instrument of holding shares in the successor companies. Instead, it morphed into a huge bureaucracy negating the very point of establishing successor companies. In 2001, the transmission business was legislated to be separate from distribution, only to be reversed later,” Mangoma said at the time of announcing the intended restructuring.

Meanwhile, Mangoma said the country was up to date with payments for power import. He said Zimbabwe had a firm contract with Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique for the importation of 100 megawatts of electricity. Mangoma said Zambia provides power imports if it gets surpluses during off peak periods.

He, however, said Zimbabwe continued to export 150 megawatts of power to Namibia because of the $40 million that the country received from that country before the inclusive government was formed. Zimbabwe has a capacity to produce 1 200 megawatts of power compared to consumption of 2 000 megawatts.