The year 2020 has kicked off on a challenging note for ZPC owing to the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic which has affected the world at large.
Given the operating environment, ZPC sent out 1293.86GWh against a target of 1608.25GWh, representing a negative variance of 19.55%. The output of 1293.86GWh is 21.56% below the output for the same period in 2019. We attribute this to the COVID 19 outbreak and its consequential lockdown, depressed generation at Kariba due to low lake levels and unavailability of Unit 6 and Unit 3 at Hwange throughout the quarter. The COVID-19 imposed lockdown resulted in interruption of maintenance works as contractors declared force majeure, delayed payments and delivery by contractors.
Hwange Power Station generated with an average of four units during the quarter and sent out 627.63GWh of energy missing its quarterly target by 32.63%. This is mainly attributed to the unavailability of Unit 6 due to various challenges, thereby reducing plant availability. Unit 3 Major Overhaul however, commenced on 28 October 2019 and is on-going despite delays due to lockdown.
Despite the ongoing challenges, we have ensured that the Unit 7 and 8 expansion project in Hwange continues although the overall schedule is slightly behind schedule with progress sitting at 41.5%. This is due to the effects of COVID-19 which have adversely affected the procurement and manufacturing of equipment. The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had serious implications on the project progress as personnel cannot travel to or from China for manufacturing and procurement of equipment.
ZPC is however currently riding on exemption of essential utilities in which Hwange Expansion Project falls under, to avail staff at site for business continuity. Certain controls for the containment of COVID-19 pandemic have been enforced at all sites to ensure safety of employees and contractors.
Coal deliveries are beginning to improve. It is my hope that we will have enough stock for winter as well as units 3 and 6 at Hwange once they are back on board.
As a company operating in risky conditions, we continually strive to achieve zero harm to our people, plants and environment. The organization recorded (3) Lost Time Injuries for the Quarter under review. The cumulative Loss Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) for ZPC for the 1st Quarter stands at 1.16 which is below our target limit of 3.0.
To date, Zimbabwe Power Company has a total staff complement of 3,337 employees as at 31 March 2020 and these were dominated by permanent staff at 50.34% followed by fixed term contract staff at 28.77 %.
To build its future human capital capacity the organisation is still running the Scholarship Program with ten (10) beneficiaries are still to complete their studies. Apprenticeship and Graduate Training programs remain key instruments in building future human capital capacity and the organisation continues to support such programs with 208 Apprentices and 32 Graduate Trainees having been in the system as of 31 March 2020.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank every employee for their contribution in ensuring the smooth running of operations within our organisation. May we all be vigilant, stay safe and observe all the safety measures put in place in order to avoid COVID- 19 infections. It is our collective responsibility to ensure we take care of each other and keep our workplace COVID- 19 free. Like most organisations, we have put in place several support systems in order to ensure employee and stakeholder safety. May we all be in compliance.
To this end, I encourage all to;
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Practice social distancing
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Wear protective clothing at all times
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Maintain clean workspaces
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Avoid touching your face
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Wash hands frequently with soap and water and;
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Sanitise frequently
Let’s stay safe and healthy as we power Zimbabwe into the future!