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THE State Procurement Board (SPB) has approved $2.3 billion worth of energy tenders in the last five years as the country seeks to address power shortage.

According to an online publication, figures availed to a Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy on Monday show that the SPB awarded 205 tenders from 2010 to date.

The figures show that the biggest tenders in terms of value were granted in 2013 when 36 tenders worth $1,7 billion were approved.

This year 15 tenders worth $107 million have been approved.

Zimbabwe is faced with power constraints owing to limited investment in the capital intensive energy sector.

The country, which has five power stations, produces half of its peak demand of 2,200 megawatts.

As of Tuesday, the country was generating a total of 1,208MW from all its plants according to the Zimbabwe Power Company website.

The country’s power utility Zesa was undertaking projects to increase capacity at Hwange Thermal Power Station and Kariba South.

Hwange Power Station has installed capacity of 920MW but produces only 500MW due to the antiquated machinery, but there were plans to increase generation by a further 600MW.

As a result of the expansion project, Kariba which has an installed capacity of 750MW will have an additional two 150MW units by 2017.

China’s Sino Hydro was awarded contracts for both projects.

Zimbabwe has been experiencing electricity shortages since 2006, while imports from Mozambique’s Hydro Cahora Bassa were too little to make up the difference.

As of December last year, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority had licenced 12 new power projects — including the Kariba and Hwange projects — as well as nine independent producers (IPPs), that could generate an additional 3,500 megawatts, over three times current production by 2018. —Business Reporter/The Source.