ZIMBABWE‘S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE

**Table 2. Benchmarking Zimbabwe’s power infrastructure**

|Indicators|Units|Zimbabwe<br>(before 2006)|Zimbabwe<br>(after 2006)|Low-income<br>(nonfragile)<br>countries|Middle-income<br>countries|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Access to electricity (national)|% of population|33.9|41.5|33|50|
|Access to electricity (urban)|% of population||79|86|73|
|Access to electricity (rural)|% of population||19|12.7|26.3|
|Installed capacity per million<br>population|MW per million<br>population|151|146|20|799|
|Power outages|days/year|14.6||10.4|5.9|
|Collection rate|% billing|49|62|92|91|
|Revenue per unit|U.S. cents/ kWh|1|5|14|13|
|System losses|% of generation|13|11|24|20|
|Cost recovery|% total cost|19|65|89|85|
|Hidden costs|% of revenue|560|108|||
|Effective power tariff||||Predominantly<br>thermal|Other developing<br>regions|
|residential at 100 kWh|U.S. cents|2|6|14.5||
|commercial at 100 kWh|U.S. cents||7|18.8|5.0–10.0|
|industrial at 50,000 kWh|U.S. cents||7|14.2||

_Source:_ All sources are AICD unless indicated otherwise. Access to electricity (national, urban and rural) from World Energy Outlook (International Energy Association, 2010); installed power capacity data for 2009 based on presentation from Zimbabwe investor conference (2009); collection rate data based on World Bank staff information based on 2004 and 2009; revenue per unit derived from data based on AICD calculations for 2004 and 2009; system losses are for 2003 and 2009 and are based on World Bank (2008a) and World Bank staff estimates; cost recovery calculated based on World Bank (2010) and are for 2004 and 2009; hidden costs based on data from 2004 and 2009 and derived from AICD calculations; and tariff information is for 2004 and 2009 and derived based on World Bank (2010). _Note:_ MW = megawatts; kWh = kilowatt-hour.

# **Challenges**

Zimbabwe‘s power infrastructure is starved of new investments, however. Zimbabwe has not seen any investments to expand its generation infrastructure since 1988, when Hwange Power Station added 440 MW. Only around 60 percent of the 1,960 MW of installed capacity is operational. Installed capacity in per capita terms is following a clear downward trend (table 2). Power transmission and distribution networks have been further corroded due to damage and theft. This vandalism produced losses of about $400,000 a month during 2009, of which only 40 percent was recovered later (World Bank 2010).

ZESA,Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority,the integrated power utility, faces an unsustainable financial situation that leaves no room for new investments. Sixty-eight percent of Zimbabwe‘s installed capacity is thermal as of 2008, and ZESA uses 2.4 million tonnes of coal per year for thermal power generation. Between over half of its coal comes from the state-owned Hwange Colliery Company, which has continuously subsidized the coal ZESA buys. Other inputs such as water (for hydropower generation) and transportation services are also provided at below-market costs (World Bank 2008b). Yet, despite the highly subsidized prices, ZESA was unable to pay Hwange for its coal supply. The inability of ZESA to pay for coal has in turn weakened the financial capacity of its supplier.

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