Bad weather leaves 32,000 homes and businesses without electricity in central Mozambique districts

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Bad weather leaves 32,000 homes and businesses without electricity in central Mozambique districts

8:16 CAT | 18 Oct 2023

Image: EDM

According to a statement from Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM), the bad weather that was felt in some parts of the center of the country caused the fall of five medium voltage poles, leading to the interruption of power supply to 32,703 customers in the districts of Morrumbala , Derre, Mopeia, Luabo, Inhassunge, Chinde, in the province of Zambézia, Inhaminga, Chemba, Caia and the administrative post of Chupanga, in the province of Sofala, Tambara, in the province of Manica, and Mutarara, in Tete.

“EDM technical teams were mobilized to the field, with a view to reestablishing normal electricity supply to the affected areas. However, the occurrence of rain is affecting the carrying out of the work”, warns the Mozambican state electricity company.

At the end of last year, the company operated a medium voltage distribution network of 22,992 kilometres and a transmission network of 6,355 kilometres with 15,906 towers.

According to EDM, of the 416 administrative posts in the country, 318 are connected to the National Electric Grid, which represents a coverage rate of 76% at territorial level.

Lusa reported in September that the cyclones which affected Mozambique in 2022 alone cost EDM more than 23.8 million dollars (22 million euros), according to data from the state electricity company.

According to the final accounting made by EDM, the Mozambican electricity grid recorded “massive damage” in 2022, resulting in the fall of medium and low voltage power poles, causing the unavailability of energy in the system that “affected around 300,000 customers” .

Adding the damage to infrastructure to the reduction in charges, EDM recorded a loss directly associated with the impacts of cyclones in 2022 of 23,852,265 dollars.

At issue are the effects, first, of Storm Ana, which hit the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia, Tete, Niassa, Sofala and Manica, in January last year, affecting around 120,000 people and causing 10,814 people to be displaced. The storm, in addition to the effects on the electricity grid, destroyed 23,400 homes, eight bridges, 13 health units and 543 classrooms in 249 schools.

This was followed in March by tropical cyclone Gombe, which hit the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Sofala, with wind gusts that reached 230 kilometers per hour, affecting 736,015 people and causing 7,086 people to be displaced, in addition to 78,635 houses, eight bridges destroyed, among other serious impacts.

Source: Lusa