Zambia and Zimbabwe are currently experiencing their worst run of electricity crisis in decades. Prolonged drought across the Zambezi basin in 2024 and 2025 have significantly reduced inflows to the Kariba Dam, forcing the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) to curtail generation in order to preserve reservoir levels. Given Kariba’s central role in both countries’ power systems, the resulting outages have exposed the structural vulnerability created by high hydro concentration and limited dispatchable alternatives.