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Reuters / Security guards arrive with dogs for their shift at a power station outside Gaborone, Botswana, November 23, 2015.
Botswana is battling to repair its troubled 600 megawatt (MW)power station before a surge in power demand during the approaching winter season, its power supplier said on Wednesday.
Built by China National Electric Engineering Company at a cost of $970 million, the power station was commissioned in 2012, but has often broken down due, leading to reliance on diesel generators and imports from neighbouring South Africa.
In a statement, Botswana Power Corporation said demand is expected to rise from the current 530 MW to a projected 669 MW during the winter season, which runs between June and August.
Only two units of the four units were operational producing 260 MW, the company said, adding that it was hoping to have all the units restored at the earliest possible time.
The power utility projects it would import 190 MW. Botswana’s power generation stands at 479 MW.
Botswana is currently weighing an option to sell the troubled 600 MW power plant back to its Chinese developers, but a decision has not yet been taken.
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