Marracuene, 03 Sep (AIM) – Extreme weather events have caused losses estimated at 76 million US dollars to Mozambique’s publicly-owned electricity company, EDM.
These losses were recorded between 2022 and 2026, forcing the company to strengthen the resilience of its power generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.
According to Sílvio Nurmahomed, EDM Director of Electrification and Projects, who was speaking on Wednesday at a seminar on “Climate Change Challenges in Electricity Sector”, held as part of the 61st edition of Maputo International Fair (FACIM), the floods that affected the country’s southern region this year alone caused estimated losses of 9.29 million dollars.
Nurmahomed explained that despite investments in clean and renewable energy, including solar plants already in operation and planned solar and wind projects, weather extreme events continue to pose a threat to power lines, substations, and other electrical infrastructure.
“In order to address this issue, EDM established a climate risk and disaster management unit responsible for leading mitigation, adaptation, and resilience efforts, and began recruiting professionals in 2026 to boost its response capacity”, he said.
According to Nurmahomed, there is a need to incorporate resilience criteria into the construction of new infrastructure and the maintenance of existing facilities.
“All infrastructures currently being built already takes this resilience component into account.
The company has already mapped infrastructure considered high-risk, including 11 towers in the northern region, eight in the central region, and 27 in the southern region”, he said.
Regarding the distribution network, he said, 256 kilometers of critical medium-voltage lines were identified in the northern region, 363 in the central region, and 266 in the southern region.
However, limited financial resources are a major constraint on implementing adaptation measures on a larger scale. “For the coming years, EDM intends to mobilize resources to reinforce distribution and transmission networks and substations, as well as to ensure a rapid response following extreme weather events”, he explained.
Nurmahomed also pointed out that about 103 million dollars is needed for the project by 2028, while 39 million dollars are needed for the first year of implementation. “Diversifying energy supply sources and installing emergency solutions, such as solar panels and generators, is crucial especially in remote districts and at critical infrastructure sites, including hospitals”, he said.
(AIM)
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