Zimbabwe Faces Lengthy Power Outages After Surge Hits Plants

  • Minister says power imports knocked out three substations
  • Second city warns of citywide water cuts due to power shortage

Lake Kariba dam between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Photographer: Guillem Sartorio/AFP/Getty Images
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Zimbabwe faces prolonged power outages after a surge in electricity imports from neighboring South Africa overloaded its network and caused generating plants to fail, Energy Minister Soda Zhemu said.

The surge caused a nationwide blackout in the early hours of Monday, as it affected output at the Kariba hydropower plant and the coal-fired Hwange facility, Zhemu said by phone from the capital, Harare.

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Zimbabwe Faces Lengthy Power Outages After Surge Hits Plants