Thabiso Nxumalo
The Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development Magna Mudyiwa has encouraged the nation to engage in electricity saving practices in order to conserve the insufficient power the country currently has.
The minister made these remarks in the question-and-answer session in parliament session on November 24, 2021.
She said the public should use electricity sparingly, adopting LED lights, solar geysers and switching off idle electrical gadgets and further added that there was no law in place to convict those who are not adhering to power saving practices.
“We urge the public to get rid of the old version bulbs and adopt LED lights and install solar geysers as this does not only save the country’s electricity as a whole, but also reduce their bill,”
“As much as we encourage the public to follow energy saving methods at home and in their offices, we however, do not have a law that binds or convicts those who default, as they are the ones responsible for their electricity bill. As a ministry, we do not condone people leaving their office lights on the whole night but we can only educate them on saving power and hope that they put it into practise,” Mudyiwa said.
She said they were working with stakeholders such as Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) in educating the public on the importance of conserving power.
“We have partnered with ZETDC to launch nationwide campaigns, educating every stakeholder on the importance of adopting power saving methods and options such as green energy in the form of solar powered geysers amongst others,” added Mudyiwa.
These remarks come at a time when Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) claims they are in the process of importing 400 megawatts from Mozambique and Zambia to curb nationwide power outages that usually span over 12 hours.
Masvingo and several other local authorities like Gweru city council have been facing acute power challenges affecting the pumping of water at the pump stations as a result of the prolonged load shedding schedules.
