{"id":101237,"date":"2024-11-29T07:13:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T05:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout"},"modified":"2024-11-29T09:21:07","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T07:21:07","slug":"zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout","title":{"rendered":"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budget speech, following an unexpected power outage.<\/p>\n<p>As the lights went out, President Emmerson Mnangagwa was escorted out of the darkened chamber while Parliament\u2019s backup generators took some time to kick in and restore power.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with ZimLive, ZESA spokesperson George Manyaya dismissed claims that the blackout was caused by load shedding, attributing the power failure instead to lightning.<\/p>\n<p>Manyaya said that Parliament is on a dedicated power line exempt from load shedding. He said:<\/p>\n<p>There was a storm in the parliament area and unfortunately lightning caused a temporary loss of power during the budget presentation.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an act of nature and definitely not load shedding as is being suggested on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Zimbabweans are facing prolonged power cuts, with outages lasting up to 18 hours a day, as the country\u2019s power utility, ZESA, struggles to meet the growing electricity demand.<\/p>\n<p>The power shortages are being exacerbated by a combination of factors, including low water levels at the Kariba Dam, which have significantly reduced hydroelectric power generation.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, ZESA has been forced to cut down on its output from Kariba, one of the country\u2019s primary power sources.<\/p>\n<p>Compounding the situation, Zimbabwe\u2019s ageing thermal power stations, particularly the Hwange Power Station, have become increasingly unreliable due to outdated infrastructure and maintenance challenges.<\/p>\n<p>According to data from ZESA\u2019s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Power Company, the country was generating only 1,083 MW of electricity on Wednesday, far below the national demand of approximately 2,000 MW.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budget speech, following an unexpected power outage. As the lights went out, President Emmerson Mnangagwa was escorted out of the darkened chamber while Parliament\u2019s backup generators took some time to kick in and restore power. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":101235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[2049,2441,1802,548,8003,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-101237","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-economy","9":"tag-lightning","10":"tag-lightning-strike","11":"tag-new-parliament","12":"tag-parliament","13":"tag-power-outage","14":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budge ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budge ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-29T05:13:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-29T07:21:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"449\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout\",\"name\":\"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout - zimbabwe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-29T05:13:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-29T07:21:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4\"},\"description\":\"Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budge ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":449,\"caption\":\"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/\",\"name\":\"zimbabwe\",\"description\":\"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u064a\u0648\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0639\u0629\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout - zimbabwe","description":"Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budge ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout","og_description":"Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budge ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout","og_site_name":"zimbabwe","article_published_time":"2024-11-29T05:13:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-11-29T07:21:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":449,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout","name":"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout - zimbabwe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-29T05:13:26+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-29T07:21:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4"},"description":"Parliament was plunged into darkness on Thursday as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was concluding his 2025 national budge ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/11\/sm_1732852242.529703.jpg","width":800,"height":449,"caption":"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zesa-blames-lightning-for-parliament-blackout#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ZESA Blames Lightning For Parliament Blackout"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/","name":"zimbabwe","description":"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u064a\u0648\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0639\u0629","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101242,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101237\/revisions\/101242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}