A small rural community south-east of Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe is benefiting from a mini hydro-electric scheme supported and subsidised by Schneider Electric South Africa and its specialist electricity prepayment subsidiary, Conlog.
The scheme, project managed by Practical Action (PA) a UK-based NGO with an office in Zimbabwe, is generating 24 kVA from the hydro-driven turbine on the Wengezi river and providing power supplies to Chipendeke, which comprises a local school, clinic, two shops, a small maize grinding mill, some government houses and local private dwellings. When the distribution of the hydro-generated electricity is completed, the total number of power connections envisaged will be 100.
Conlog general manager, Jaap Grobler says the company donated 100 prepayment meters to PA and also provided the computer and electricity vending management system and software to ensure the effective management of the revenue. “In addition, our technical specialists spent a week at the site, installing the system and providing training to the PA personnel and local community users. The money collected from the prepayment system will be managed by the community forum and will be used to the benefit of the overall community.”
The impact of electrical power on the community, which has never had electrical power, was clearly illustrated when the first lights at Chipendeke were turned on at the clinic and shops. Lights coming on were greeted with broadly smiling faces. Some of the locals had grasped the vision and worked with the project, contributing their labour and locally available material. Those who had not were converts as soon as the lights came on.
The joyful reaction was just reward for the PA team, Lenny Gengiah of Conlog, electrician Pardon Sibanda and Godfrey Dzapata, MD of Milkraft Engineering, who manufactured the turbine. “It was a moment for self reflection,” says Gengiah. “We take electricity for granted while for others this was a momentous event with light where before there was darkness.”
PA has plans to encourage the community to start micro-enterprises such as welding, battery charging, hair dressing, entertainment, additional shops and refrigeration services. The local school will benefit considerably with lighting, computers and electrification of teachers’ houses and the clinic will be able to refrigerate vaccines and sterilise equipment.
PA estimates that 200 households, representing about 1200 people are set to directly benefit from household installations and 1800 will indirectly benefit from the services offered by retail, maize grinding, schooling and other activities. The turbine providing the power is a Pelton matched to a synchronous AC 3-phase screen protected generator with a drip proof alternator of rated output of 24 kVA. The transmission line is a 4-wire, 3-phase and 287 m long.
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