Water levels at that huge Kariba dam are creeping up, but the power situation is still absolutely dire. Recent rain around the lake has provided a tiny boost, with the lake level now at 476.24 meters and usable water storage for power sitting at just over five percent. That pathetic number is still a decade-low, completely dwarfed by the over fifty percent storage seen in a good year like 2018. The Zambezi River Authority says don't get excited for a real recovery, just hope things stabilize.
The result is a massive chokehold on electricity generation. Zimbabwe's power company can only squeeze out a maximum of 550 megawatts from the Kariba South plant, a fraction of its potential, because there is barely any water to run through the turbines. The current storage volume, while slightly better than last year's total, remains catastrophically low, highlighting how one season of okay rainfall cannot undo years of drought that have crippled the region's primary power source.
The result is a massive chokehold on electricity generation. Zimbabwe's power company can only squeeze out a maximum of 550 megawatts from the Kariba South plant, a fraction of its potential, because there is barely any water to run through the turbines. The current storage volume, while slightly better than last year's total, remains catastrophically low, highlighting how one season of okay rainfall cannot undo years of drought that have crippled the region's primary power source.
