Energy and Power Power Development Minister, Zhemu Soda said that the Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 7 will be back on the national grid on Monday.
Last week, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) announced that the 300MW Hwange Unit 7 had been temporarily removed from the grid for system evaluation before the final commissioning phase.
Responding to questions from Senators on Thursday, Soda said the reliability tests for Unit 7 had been completed and it will be back on the grid on Monday. The <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/hwange-unit-7-passes-test-runs-back-on-grid-next-monday/">Chronicle</a> quoted the Minister as saying:
<blockquote>
It was being run on commissioning tests where they were testing the turbine running capacity, which was successful and also the boiler hydraulics.
What happened is that after running it for the period of the tests, they took it out of the grid in order for technicians to do evaluations before the unit is run on a commercial basis.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, the synchronisation of Unit 8 did not go as planned on 16 May, according to the Minister.
He said when the synchronisation started, engineers discovered after about three hours that there was an area that they needed to attend to and it was taken off the grid. Said Soda:
<blockquote>
They have been working on the unit and according to what they had pre-determined at a time when they took it off the grid, the unit was supposed to be tied back to the grid today (last Thursday).
</blockquote>
He said he was yet to get an update from the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) on whether that had happened.
Unit 7 and 8 are expected to add 600 megawatts to the grid and reduce the duration of unscheduled power cuts being experienced across the country.
The two units were built at a cost of about US$1.4 billion by a Chinese contractor.
The Hwange Thermal Power Station expansion project started in 2018 but was affected by a number of unforeseen events such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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Hwange Unit 7 Back On The Grid On 22 May

The Hwange Thermal Power Station Unit 8 is set to be synchronised on Tuesday, 16 May 2023, with tests underway to ensure that the process is undertaken successfully.
Unit 8 is expected to add another 300 megawatts to the national grid once fully operational.
The planned synchronisation of Unit 8 comes a few months after Unit 7 was successfully synchronised with the national grid and started feeding electricity.
Minister of Energy and Power Development Zhemu Soda recently told the media that Unit 8 will be connected to the national grid on 16 May. He said:
<blockquote>
Engineers are on the ground working on various tests to make sure everything is in order for a successful synchronisation of Unit 8 with the national grid.
It is the same procedure that was undertaken before the synchronisation of Unit 7 on 20 March 2023.
What we are observing is that the synchronisation will go as planned.
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/all-set-for-hwange-unit-8-synchronisation-power-outages-price-volatility-temporary-ed/">The Sunday News</a> reported sources close to the project on Saturday as saying tests were underway to ensure smooth synchronisation. Said a source:
<blockquote>
Engineers are on the ground working on various tests to make sure everything is in order for a successful synchronisation of Unit 8 with the national grid.
It is the same procedure that was undertaken before the synchronisation of Unit 7 on 20 March 2023.
What we are observing is that the synchronisation will go as planned.
Hwange Unit 7 which is still undergoing commissioning tests has successfully completed the reliability run.
Engineers took it off the grid on Thursday for evaluation of all systems which was supposed to be 168 hours.
I am sure that time has lapsed so engineers will advise when it will be returned to the grid for the final phase of commissioning which is the performance and guarantees test. After these tests, it is expected to be available commercially in mid-June.
</blockquote>
The Hwange Thermal Power Station Expansion Project involves the construction of two new units, Units 7 and 8, which will have a combined capacity of 600MW.
The project is being funded through a loan from China Exim Bank, with Sinohydro Corporation acting as the EPC contractor.
The project is expected to cost approximately $1.4 billion and was initially scheduled for completion in 2022 but was delayed due to COVID-19.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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