Darkness descends — Eskom confirms blackout in Zambia and Zimbabwe after ‘incident’

At
around
12.55
on
Tuesday
afternoon,
the
lights
flickered
and
then
failed
across
Zimbabwe
and
Zambia.
This
synchronised
blackout,
the second in
recent
weeks,
was
triggered
by
cascading
failures
in
the
Southern
African
Power
Pool
(SAPP)
—
a
cooperative
framework
meant
to
bolster
regional
energy
resilience.

Towards
the
end
of
November,
another
such
blackout
occurred
which
was attributed to
“an
unexpected
development
on
the
Zambia-Zimbabwe interconnector”.

The
National
Transmission
Company
of
South
Africa
(NTCSA)
—
a
wholly
owned
subsidiary
of
Eskom
—
told
Daily
Maverick
that
Tuesday’s
incident
was
not
a
“power
surge”,
but
rather
an
“incident,
event
or
fault”.

“The
tripping
of
lines
occurs
automatically
to
protect
the
power
system
and
power
equipment,
and
it
is
misleading
to
suggest
that
Eskom
took
a
decision
to
disconnect
the
SAPP
region.”

SAPP
SADC
grid
map. (Source: SAPP)

The
Zimbabwe
Electricity
Transmission
and
Distribution
Company
(ZETDC)
said
an
“imbalance
in
power
on
the
international
connections”
caused
the
blackout.

In
a statement,
the
ZETDC
said,
“[Zimbabwe
Electricity
Supply]
Holdings
would
like
to
advise
its
valued
customers
that
the
national
grid
experienced
a
system
disturbance
which
resulted
in
a
national
blackout
on
Tuesday,
December
17,
2024,
at
1255
hours.
This
incident
was
caused
by
an
imbalance
in
power
on
the
international
connections
which
affected
the
national
grid
of
Zimbabwe
and
some
parts
of
the
region.

“Restoration
to
most
parts
of
the
country
has
been
completed,
except
for
areas
under
load
shedding.”

The
incident
is
being
investigated
by
the
SAPP
Coordination
Centre
based
in
Harare.

The Lusaka
Times
reported that
on
Monday,
a
day
before
the
blackout,
Zimbabwe’s
power
generation
plummeted
to
its
lowest
level
in
more
than
12
months,
with
daily
electricity
production
hitting
736MW.
For
context,
just
one
of
Koeberg
Nuclear
Power
Station’s
two
units
can
produce
970MW.

Eskom
is
Africa’s
largest
electricity
producer,
supplying
nearly
30%
of
the
continent’s
power.
Accordingly,
it
plays
a
critical
role
in
the
SAPP.

Complementing
this
is
the
NTCSA,
which
operates
under
a
National
Energy
Regulator
of
South
Africa-issued
licence
which
allows
the
NTCSA
to
manage
imports,
exports
and
the
trade
of
electricity
within
the
SAPP,
ensuring
the
interconnected
grid
functions
smoothly
and
efficiently. DM

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published
in:

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