It gives me great pleasure to address you at the inception of a much-awaited new year. The year 2020 has had many looking forward to given the myriad of challenges presented by its predecessor. I am proud of the resilience that the women and men of ZPC exhibited in 2019 by braving through our nation’s economic challenges and continuing to be fully committed to their jobs in order to achieve our collective goal of powering Zimbabwe towards energy self- sufficiency.
I applaud you all for the spirit of hard work, perseverance and courage that you showed in the face of these adversities and encourage you to continue on this path throughout the course of the new year.
In 2019, ZPC sent out 7445.18GWh for the period spanning January to December 2019 against a target of 8973.53GWh. We missed the set annual target by 17.03%. This is attributable to the depressed generation at Kariba, following the decreased water allocation by ZRA due to low water levels caused by lower than average inflows into the dam from the 2018/2019 rainy season. The situation was also magnified by the constant breakdowns at Hwange and the subsequent postponement of Hwange Unit 3 major overhaul. This led to a prolonged period of load shedding spanning 18 hours a day in the worst instances.
Despite these immense challenges we are however continually looking for ways to improve the power supply situation by refurbishing our existing power plants and extending their lifespan. Part of the funding for refurbishment of stage 1 at Hwange has since been secured and we are looking forward to commencing the exercise in 2020. We are looking forward to implementing Plasma Ignition Technology which shall increase efficiency of our power generation and reduce the need for use of large quantities of diesel. PRAZ has since given a no- objection to the awarding of the tender and the contract was duly signed and is now in the Conditions Precedence satisfaction period.
The expansion project in Hwange is proceeding well since its official commencement on 1 August 2019. The project target completion date is set for the end of January 2022 where we shall be providing an additional 600MW to the national grid.
Works that are currently in progress include design reviews, employers’ accommodation construction, site temporary works, excavations, superstructures construction and transmission works. Temporary works are now at 93% and overall completion as at 31 December 2019 was at 31.9%.
There are also offsite works currently in progress, including the manufacturing of turbines and generators for both units which are being done in China. Delivery of turbine for Unit 7 is expected in January 2020 while for Unit 8 delivery is expected in March 2020. A team will visit China for tests on the generators.
As a company that operates in risky conditions, we continually strive to achieve the set target of zero harm to our people, plants and environment. The organization’s recorded Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) as at 31 December 2019 were 28. This is almost similar to the number of injuries recorded at this time last year which was 25. Every LTI case has been investigated and measures are being put in place to avoid recurrence of the same injuries. The LTIFR to date is 4.16.
The organization has managed to maintain IMS certification with SAZ after the 2nd surveillance audit was conducted in November. Through the Integrated Management System, ZPC has received recognition by SAZ and was invited to attend the SAZ standards week in Victoria Falls in November. The organization has also been admitted to the Zimbabwe Business Wellness Council.
ZPC is currently in the process of migrating from the Occupational Health and Safety standard OHSAS 18001:2007 to the new standard IS0 45001:2018. The organization will be adopting and integrating a new standard HIV and Wellness Management System (HWMS) ZWS: 992:2019. The gap analysis has been completed and the process of integration has begun. When completed, the organization will become one of the first to be certified to this standard. To ensure the integrity of the system the organization has trained more Internal auditors at all stations and five members of staff were trained as Lead Auditors.
To date, Zimbabwe Power Company has a total staff complement of 3,235 employees and these are dominated by permanent staff at 52% followed by fixed term contract staff at 26%.
It is our objective to play our part and contribute positively to our nation’s manpower development and to this end, we have recruited 195 apprentices and 21 trainee plant operators in 2019 who are being trained at our five power stations. ZPC currently has 43 Graduate Trainees and 406 students on attachment across its power stations and Head Office.
As part of our social responsibility endeavors, we sponsor students studying towards STEM subjects and currently have a total of 18 scholarship beneficiaries. We strive to continue promoting the uptake of science and technology in the young generations regardless of their gender.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank every employee for their contribution in raising the ZPC flag high. May we continue to be inspired to work as a team in 2020 to achieve great things for Zimbabwe and build a strong foundation to sustain our industry and power the nation towards Vision 2030!
I wish you all a Prosperous 2020!