HARARE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will not shut down its main hydropower plant but cut generation by half after dam water levels have receded, Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda said Friday.
"Kariba Power Station will not shut down completely, rather, it will continue to generate but at a reduced capacity of up to 300 MW daily average pending a review of the water situation at the dam in January 2023," Soda said.
Earlier reports show that Kariba Power Station, the country's main hydropower plant, has been ordered to shut down by the Zambezi River Authority due to receding water levels in Kariba Dam, which it manages.
It has been agreed that the countries' two hydropower plants, which draw water from the dam, should significantly reduce power generation, Soda told a press conference after a meeting with his Zambian counterpart on Thursday.
The Kariba dam, one of the largest man-made reservoir in the world, sits across the Zambezi River which divides Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The two countries equally share the water resource for power generation.
Zambia's North Bank Power Station has an installed capacity of 1,080 MW but will now reduce generation to 800 MW, while Zimbabwe's 1,050 MW Kariba Power Station, or the South Bank Power Station, will reduce generation from an average 600 MW to 300 MW. ■
