[miningmx.com] – ZAMBIA and Zimbabwe drew more water from the Kariba dam than requested by the Zambezi River Authority draining it to 29% of its capacity by September, said Reuters.
Citing Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) president, Bernard Chiwala, Reuters said generation at the Kariba North Bank power station on July 20 was 760MW compared to the 500MW prescribed by the regulator.
“Despite restrictions on water use, the power utilities continued to generate way above the revised threshold of 500MW leading to a net draw down of the reservoir,” he said.
An electricity shortage and weaker copper prices have put pressure on Zambia’s mining industry, threatening output, jobs and economic growth in the southern African nation, said Reuters.
Zambian power companies and mining firms in August agreed to cut power supply to the mines by 30% due to a power deficit which rose to 985MW in September from 560MW in March, the newswire said.
Click here to read the full article
