Despite Cahora Bassa breakdown: EDM will not restrict energy supply in Mozambique

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Despite Cahora Bassa breakdown: EDM will not restrict energy supply in Mozambique

5:44 CAT | 14 Dec 2016

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On Monday, Cahora Bassa Hidroeléctrica issued a statement announcing the reduction of electricity supply by 18 percent for days, following an equipment breakdown on the 3rd of the month.

Electricity of Mozambique has now clarified to ‘O País’ that although HCB’s power generation capacity will be reduced, the company will not restrict supply to customers.

“The impact of the HCB third generator’s failure will not be felt in physical terms. That is, there will continue to be energy throughout the country, in all cities and all neighbourhoods,” EDM spokesman Luis Amado said.

But the public company says it will face higher costs buying energy to offset the deficit. This is because HCB is the cheapest supplier and the breakdown reduces EDM’s 200 Megawatt capacity, so to compensate it will have to look to one of the other, relatively expensive domestic or foreign suppliers.

Luís Amado says that EDM has not yet made a final assessment of the total cost of purchasing energy to compensate for the breakdown, but says that the current energy purchased at HCB costs between 3 and 4 cents per kilowatt per hour and it will have to buy electrical power from other domestic or regional suppliers at approximately 10 or 11 cents per kilowatt per hour, roughly three times as much.

EDM is currently evaluating which supplier offers the most affordable rate over the next 70 days.

EDM’s maximum capacity is 900 Megawatts, of which 500 are purchased at HCB and 400 from outside. With the malfunction, it will only have access to only 300 Megawatts from HCB.

Source: AIM Moçambique