The ManicaPost
Ray Bande in NYANGA
THE demand for electricity in the country is increasing due to an upsurge in economic and developmental activities, hence Government, among other measures, is facilitating the ease of doing business for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in order to meet the rising demand.
In a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of a five-day third quarter strategic planning and performance review workshop here in Nyanga, Energy and Power Development Minister, Honourable Zhemu Soda said IPPs are an important component of the country’s power generation whose input deserves to be incentivised.
“Independent Power Producers are partners to Government in the provision of electricity. You will notice that there is tremendous growth in demand and also through the mantra by President Mnangagwa that Zimbabwe is open for business, there has been new demand that has been registered by various consumers to ZETDC.
“So what we are finding out is that, even from the projects that are lined up by Government, the new capacities that have to be developed, the rehabilitation that has to take place, we still see that there is need for participation of the private sector. That refers to the Independent Power Producers who could be doing their power stations even on thermal or on renewables.
“They IPPs are a vital participant and stakeholder in the provision of electricity in this country. To that end, we have also offered a variety of incentives through Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA). When an IPP comes to Zimbabwe, all the coordination, all the permits and compliance requests are handled by ZIDA,” he said.
Minister Soda said investors in power generation are also being given tax holidays as well as having duty removed from equipment brought into the country.
The Energy and Power Development Minister said Net Metering has also been introduced as a way to incentivise IPPs.
“The other incentive is Net Metering where we are encouraging everyone with a solar system on their rooftop, who is both a producer and consumer, whom we call a prosumer, should benefit from producing power.
Ideally, Net Metering is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly important with renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which are non-dispatchable.
