eBusiness Weekly
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
While it is important to keep in mind advancing technologies and alternative power sources, Zimbabwe does not have the privilege of giving up on its most abundant and reliable source of power just yet.
Some energy proponents have argued that the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and government need to shift away from a coal-focused electricity regime to renewable energy as it is the future and it is our power shortage antidote.
During ZESA’s golden years it was able to keep electricity cheap due to an abundance of inexpensive coal. In combination with structural factors such as incompetent monopoly ownership and political interference, corruption around coal procurement has driven up the price of this coal. But it still remains our cheapest source of power.
Economist, Tinevimbo Shava said; “Zimbabwe is not a rich country, and its people are not rich and we are now in a power crisis that threatens livelihoods and the survival of citizens. It is not the time to be looking for frankly unproven renewable energy when we cannot even get the basics right. Our comparative advantage is coal. Solar and wind are not sufficient or reliable enough yet to provide an alternative.”
It has been proven that the country cannot rely on hydropower in entirety as the continent has not been getting sufficient rainfall to use for power generation. Not to mention the cost of building that many hydroelectric dams in a water-scarce country.
Economist Gladys Shumbambiri noted; “The solution is clear, ZESA and the entire electricity industry must be privatised. With free-market competition, natural market forces will determine the best source of electricity. Maybe a company will prove renewables to be viable because ZESA as a monopoly will never be able to do so.”
Shumbambiri said as long as it holds a monopoly, the best bet is cheap, abundant coal.
Coal accounted for about 36,5 percent of the global power mix in 2021, followed by natural gas with a 22 percent share, according to Statista.
This year marked a resurgence for coal, often known and loathed by environmentalists as the dirtiest energy source, with prices more than doubling since the end of last year.
Energy expert Engineer Takudzwa Muvundi said; “With the call for cleaner energy getting louder, the two largest coal consumers, India and China are investing even more in coal, expanding their power-plant network through the end of the next decade so why should Zimbabwe say no to coal which is cheap as we have abundant supply and more renewable.”
Renewable energy proponent, Wilson Mhuri said; “Arguing that Zimbabwe should exploit its coal resources simply because we have so much of it, is spectacularly unimaginative and stubborn. Besides, Zimbabwe still has a lot of asbestos but we stopped mining it when better options became available that were less likely to do a lot of harm.”
Mhuri said the country needs to wake up from this disaster and realise that there is a need to invest in future electricity generation methods. He argued that the country also has sufficient sunlight to power itself so there is a compelling case to move with the times in technology.
