Published: 15 March 2018

GERMAN-based firm, Filchner, has completed feasibility studies on the planned construction of the Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia (ZIZABONA) electricity transmission line to boost regional power security and reduce the cost of electricity, The Financial Gazette has learnt.

Initial estimates show that the project would cost about $223 million and should support the transfer of electricity arising primarily from existing and future hydroelectric plants located in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The project is expected to facilitate power trade across the four countries, easing congestion on the existing north-south transmission corridor within the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

It will decongest the Central Transmission Corridor (CTC) that presently passes through Zimbabwe, and promote increased trade in all Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries on the network by providing another power transmission corridor.

The electricity transmission interconnector is critical to stimulating investment in the power stressed SADC region as it is also expected to meet the growing demand for electricity in the four countries.

According to the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission Distribution Company (ZETDC), the company is expected to realise about $10 million a year through electricity wheeling charges.

"The ZIZABONA project is very strategic in terms of facilitating trade within SAPP. Currently there are wheeling constraints on the existing central corridor covering Zambia Electricity Supply Company-ZESA-Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Eskom to facilitate trade on current Power Purchase Agreements, especially for those involving BPC, Eskom and Namibia Power Company (NamPower)," ZETDC said in an internal publication.

"The existing and future generation projects present opportunities for trade, which flows would utilise the ZIZABONA and CTC networks. By entering into Transmission Use of System Agreements, the investments on the ZIZABONA and CTC networks can be recovered from such trade opportunities over and above the normal SAPP wheeling arrangements for any other SAPP transactions," ZETDC added. It said Zimbabwe was at the centre of southern Africa, a group of 14 power utilities in terms of power distribution location and it also hosts the headquarters of SAPP in Harare.

The project would expand the local transmission capacity for own use by ZETDC, while increasing system stability and reliability, further eradicating load shedding by the power utility which was last experienced in December 2015.

"Filchner has already completed and delivered the feasibility assessment report to ZETDC and SAPP, and the report is scheduled to be presented to the African Development Bank this February (last month)."
- fingaz