Zimbabwe was plunged into a nationwide blackout on Monday, July 6, after the country’s national electricity grid collapsed, according to the State-owned Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC).
The power outage occurred at 6:24 pm local time (1624 GMT). ZETDC said all relevant departments had been alerted and efforts to restore electricity were underway. Its parent company, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), attributed the outage to a technical fault on the national power network. Engineers were investigating the cause and working to restore stability to the grid.
Zimbabwe has experienced recurring electricity shortages in recent years due to ageing infrastructure and limited power generation. The country relies mainly on the coal-fired Hwange Power Station and the Kariba Hydropower Plant, whose output has been reduced by low water levels caused by poor rainfall and recurring droughts.