In order to save Zimbabwe their precious foreign currency reserves and to make fuel more affordable for the public as well as for local businesses, the Zimbabwean government on Wednesday approved a new ethanol blend E85 in addition to E5 that has already been approved. In a statement the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) said the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, after consultations, gazetted Statutory Instruments 23 of 2013 which specify the quality of E85 and other fuels that may be used in Zimbabwe. Since the introduction of E5 more than USD 2m are being saved monthly on hard currency for imports, which will be increased by the introduction of E85.
