Mozambique to “repatriate” electricity it exports to South Africa

Maputo, 5 Feb (AIM) – The Mozambican government intends to “repatriate” for domestic use the electricity it has been exporting from Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi River, in the western Mozambican province of Tete, to South Africa since 1979.

According to “Strategy for Energy Transition in Mozambique until 2050”, a document cited by the Portuguese News Agency (Lusa), the main short-term hydro priority is the repatriation of (8-10 TWh) [TeraWatt-hours] of electricity from HCB, currently exported to South Africa, as well as the addition of two gigawatts of new national hydroelectric capacity by 2031.

According to the document, the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power station is the “most important in Mozambique”, with a total installed capacity of 2,075 megawatts, and the great majority of HCB shares are owned by the Mozambican state.

“Since the start of operations in 1979, HCB has exported most of its electricity production to the South African state-owned company Eskom, with a smaller amount supplied to Mozambique’s own electricity company (EDM). HCB’s electricity is cheap and clean”, reads the document.

Of the total production, only 300 MW of “firm energy” and 380 MW of “variable energy” are supplied by HCB to the EDM.

“In 2030, the Power Purchase Agreement between HCB and Eskom will come to an end and important decisions will have to be made regarding the sale and final destination of HCB’s clean energy”, says the document.

“In the period from 2030 to 2040, a further nine gigawatts of new hydroelectric capacity will be added, of which up to three gigawatts could be reserved for export depending on the growth in national energy demand, which will be prioritized”, it explains.

After 2040, reads the document, Mozambique will add new hydroelectric capacity “mainly for domestic use in projects to be identified and thus exploiting the country’s full hydroelectric potential, which will be reassessed through new studies.”

In November, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy announced investments of 80 billion dollars in the Energy Transition Strategy, to be implemented by 2050.

(AIM)

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