Since June, MHI has been working with The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to develop a new master plan. This project is intended to help ZETDC develop a sustainable business model, a plan for capital investments, and to secure external funding from development financing institutions (DFIs).
The Zimbabwean energy sector has experienced difficulties compounded by ageing plants, transmission and distribution infrastructure, and low electrification rates. Currently, less than half of the country has power. While close to 80% of urban households have electricity, rural electrification is still below 20%.
Although the energy sector is critical in supporting economic productivity, an inability to supply adequate and reliable power supply has impacted the overall economy.
This 20-year master plan will provide a much-needed roadmap to develop sustainability in the sector, capital investment planning, and assist with accessing funding from DFIs.
Capacity building is an important part of all MHI projects. ZETDC staff have been assigned MHI counterparts to work through the master planning process. In addition, MHI is providing several technical workshops to ZETDC staff.