Intensive energy User group
About us
Intensive Energy User Group (IEUG) is a Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) for Zimbabwean companies consuming a baseload requirement of at least one megawatt of power.
during daily activities to solve the looming crisis in electrical energy supplies that is threatening the growth prospects of the whole region as we advance. To this end, the IEUG has negotiated with the Zimbabwean authorities to conduct independent negotiations with regional and domestic power producers and to import power via the regional system through ZESA Holdings infrastructure.
The establishment of the IEUG in Zimbabwe is seen as a real game changer, it allows the private sector to procure reliable, secure, predictable, and uninterruptable power at competitive prices. It also brings the financial capacity of the private sector in support of energy investment to meet the need to fund the many billions of dollars that have to be invested in the energy sector to meet current and future demand. This in no way diminishes the role of the public utilities in the region, it rather strengthens the system and enables the utilities to optimize their own operations. The IEUG represents the transformation of the electricity supply industry by the participation of the private sector.
2025
ENERGY AS A BASIS FOR REAL DEVELOPMENT
We all knew that electrical energy was important but recent changes to the nature of modern economic activity have amplified this in many ways. The reasons are many, but two main drivers stand out for us. The drive for clean energy to operate our economy going forward. A hundred years ago the main driver was coal, then a century of the internal combustion engine and carbon based fuel. Now its electricity.
But there is a new and unexpected turn in the 21st century – electronics. Data centers in many modern and developed countries are now major centers of consumption and demand. Almost every person on earth now uses an electronic gadget every day and they all need electricity. But the basic fact remains that an economy needs electrical power and needs it at a price that makes economic growth possible.
Three things are critical:
Reliability, quality and price.
In Zimbabwe one of our greatest failures has been not to keep abreast of demand and now we fail in all three areas – many areas of the country get poor quality power; supply is totally unreliable and the price of our power from our utility is now the highest in the region.
IEUG was formed by our major power users to assist the country overcome these challenges – we trade power, we are investing in new generation and in transmission and distribution. Distributed production is taking root across the country as companies and individuals try to meet their needs on their own or to augment what they get from the grid. Today 20 per cent of all demand is being met by these efforts and this will keep on growing driven partly by rapid technological changes.
But for many companies this is not enough, they need power in quantity and quality 24/7 and the cost is critical. We are working on plans to increase national power availability to 8 gigawatts from the present 1,5 in 5 years, self sufficiency in 3 years, starting in 2026. Further we want the bulk of that new power to be clean and base load, available 24/7 at a tariff at 8 cents or less per kWh.
Even if we achieve these ambitious goals, we will still have to plan to increase generation by 20 per cent per annum to ensure our economy grows and can meet the needs of the country. Today our goal is to secure utility scale solar production for 3 Gigawatts in two years, coal fired production by a similar target in 3 years and new hydro electrical energy in the immediate region by 8 gigawatts in 5 years. All at 8 cents a kWh or less.
This sounds very ambitious, but this is what is needed to exploit our potential and create the jobs our people need.
2024
Solar revolution
Globally the electricity industry is witnessing rapid change and development. This is partly driven by the need to reduce emissions from power plants using carbon based resources, particularly coal. This transition is not proving easy, Germany has had to go back to coal following problems with natural gas supplies and China, although she leads the world in alternative energy programs, is still building coal fired power plants.
But it is proving to be more difficult to find the financial resources for traditional technologies and Africa, in particular, is turning to solar energy for its needs.
The reasons are many: –
• It is a standalone source of energy that you can install anywhere, on the roof of a hut, a store or a factory.
• It is becoming so cheap that even the rural poor can afford a panel to light their homes or pump water.
• It is becoming more efficient and batteries are beginning to make solar more reliable.
In South Africa, where the State owned utility has almost collapsed due to poor management, planning and corruption, the private sector has turned to solar in a major way and this is starting to make a real difference. In many ways Zimbabwe is ahead of South Africa as our market has been liberalised and we have removed taxes on solar components and batteries.
How much solar has already been installed is impossible to tell as there is no record of just what is going on. However, all companies that are installing solar report that they are flat out and even have difficulty in meeting demand. A 5 kilowatt system of panels and a lithium battery now costs less than US$4000 to install. On a plot, a similar cost is incurred on a solar powered pumping system for water.
In the agricultural industry, farmers are installing solar systems that use solar panels for daylight power, battery storage to extend the periods that power is available and control systems that allow them to draw power from the grid when it is available or at night when tariffs are lower. Industry and mining are following them and these installations are becoming more and more sophisticated.
But it is proving to be more difficult to find the financial resources for traditional technologies and Africa, in particular, is turning to solar energy for its needs.
The IEUG is on a dispersed basis and we are considering how to maximise this investment on a long-term US dollar-denominated Power Purchasing Agreement and this will help with funding. But again, we need to consider balancing the welfare of the grid. We are also considering installing large industrial-scale batteries to manage power delivery as most of our clients want reliable, continuous base load.
Announcements
As of 29/11/2023 our offices are now running wholly on clean, renewable Solar Energy!
