Maputo, 29 Mar (AIM) – Mozambique’s publicly-owned electricity company, EDM, needs about seven million Meticais (110,000 dollars, at the current exchange rate) to restore the power system damaged by the torrential rains of last Sunday and Monday (which reached 300 millimeters in 48 hours) in the southern region of the country, especially in Maputo province and City.
According to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, who gave the figures during a working visit on Thursday to the infrastructures damaged by the heavy rainfall in Matola, “in general, during the rain, the electricity system remained intact throughout the southern region, despite the collapse of some pylons and transformer stations.”
During the visit, the minister observed that the transformer stations and electricity transmission lines in the Maputo neighborhoods of Machava-Bunhiça, Matlemele and Khongolote, were affected by the rains.
“Right from the start, work has been under way to restore the power supply. In places where the power supply was affected, the system was mostly switched off for safety reasons. Since we had flooded transformer stations, in order to avoid electric shocks and other consequences, the system was switched off”, he said.
According to the minister, as a result “only 150 families, in these neighborhoods, were affected, but it is hoped that the system will be totally restored”, he added.
But, unlike previous storms, this time there were no general power cuts. EDM managed to keep the lights on for most residents of Maputo and Matola. Zacarias attributed this to the routine maintenance that technical teams, deployed in strategic points, carry out on the power transmission and distribution infrastructures.
According to Mozambique’s relief agency, the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD), the floods caused by the torrential rains, affected, in Maputo city alone, at least 46,555 people. The thousands of people flooded out of their homes are now taking refuge in 22 accommodation centers set up by the central and municipal governments.
(AIM)
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