Unavailability of 150 Mega Watts from grid due to scheduled maintenance, not nationwide power outage Unavailability of 150 Mega Watts from grid due to scheduled maintenance, not nationwide power outage

Unavailability of 150 Mega Watts from grid due to scheduled maintenance, not nationwide power outage

False

iVerify Zambia has determined as misleading the claim by the Zambian Post Facebook page that Zambia would experience a 15-day countrywide power outage. A clarification statement issued by ZESCO Limited’s Corporate Affairs Department and accessed by iVerify Zambia, states that the withdrawal of 150MW of power from Maamba Collieries as stated in an earlier update did not imply complete power outage, but a temporary unavailability of the said volume of power from the grid due to scheduled maintenance expected to last 15 days.

 

 

Verified Sep, 19 2024

Claim

The Zambian Post Facebook page shared a post on September 17, 2024, claiming that there would be no power for 15 days straight countrywide. The post also appeared on several other social media platforms, sparking varied public reactions, with some raising concerns over the impact of the reported countrywide power supply outage in the country.

Rating Justification

iVerify Zambia has determined as misleading the claim by the Zambian Post Facebook page that Zambia would experience a 15-day countrywide power outage. A clarification statement issued by ZESCO Limited’s Corporate Affairs Department and accessed by iVerify Zambia, states that the withdrawal of 150MW of power from Maamba Collieries as stated in an earlier update did not imply complete power outage, but a temporary unavailability of the said volume of power from the grid due to scheduled maintenance expected to last 15 days.

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, ZESCO’s Corporate Affairs Department had issued a ‘PLANT MAINTENANCE ALERT’ which informed the public that one of the two units at Maamba Collieries had been successfully restored after routine maintenance and was back online. However, the second unit was subsequently taken offline for scheduled maintenance, beginning on the same day. This maintenance phase would result in a 150MW reduction in power supply to the national grid for the next 15 days, potentially leading to emergency power rationing.

ZESCO management assured the public that they were taking steps to minimize the impact on power supply during this period.

Evidence and References

Statement of clarification by ZESCO :  https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Xgo9ZQR8DgXQ91Z5/

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