Zimbabwe’s power utility has been at the receiving end of unrelenting criticisms these past couple of months as many people are unhappy with the amount of time they spend in the dark. A lot has been said about what is causing this recent load-shedding, but ZESA feels we should be adding another reason to that list. Strong winds blowing across many parts of Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) would like to apologize to its valued customers nationwide for increased power outages.

This is due to increased windy conditions affecting some parts of the country leading to increased incidences of faults.

Our teams are working round the clock to ensure full restoration of service.
A statement by ZESA

It’s true we have unusually strong winds these days

Zimbabwe’s weather report week of 10 October

While ZESA has been working hard to blame anyone and everyone but themselves it is important to note that they are kind of right here. Lots of areas in Zimbabwe have been receiving unusually strong winds these past couple of weeks. Sometimes it feels like we are in August though it is almost mid-October. This week is not going to be any different with predicted speeds of 30 km in parts of Harare.

Such strong winds can have a negative effect on pylons and overhead cable poles. If they become too strong you can expect some of the wires to come in contact, poles to topple over and short-circuiting to occur. That almost always results in power cuts.