Yesterday, ZESA warned the public that they were going back to stage 2 load-shedding-the dark ages. This is where you spend more time without power, about 18 hours of darkness, and it only comes back are well and truly asleep.

The excuse we are often given is that businesses and industry are being prioritised. A snap survey revealed startling results. Even businesses and industry are not being spared from these debilitating power cuts.

Businesses in the CBD and in industrial parts of Mbare spent hours yesterday without power. Industries in Southerton lost power around 9am and workers spend the entire day not working. The sound of large industrial generators could be heard from several complexes.

On Twitter, one user showed an image outlining the true cost of power cuts and how they are ruining businesses and ultimately the economy.

Dairy farmer Eddy Shaw had to throw away 5600litres of milk
Mukaka wakora nekushaya magetsi @fortunechasi varimi vodiiko? pic.twitter.com/CxuD5CHsnB
— Alice Tsungu (@TsunguAlice) October 15, 2019

Useless Hwange

We were told that Unit 5 at Hwange had been refurbished and was now producing an average of 500MW. Strangely after news that Eskom was having power issues of its own and would no longer be exporting much power we are told Hwange is producing only 253 MW.

In fact, the entire power available to Zimbabweans right now is a meagre 543 demand. Less than a 5th of what we require. It hasn’t been a month how can Hwange be producing half of what it was producing? How many times has Hwange been refurbished and yet we still get disappointed a few weeks later?