Government launches project to connect 25,000 new customers to electricity supply

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Government launches project to connect 25,000 new customers to electricity supply

8:11 CAT | 08 Feb 2019

File photo: Notícias

Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Max Tonela, on Wednesday announced that 25,000 new clients will be connected to the electricity supply this year in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa.

According to the Minister, this will be possible due to the installation of a high-tension line between the districts of Marrupa and Cuamba in Niassa – which covers a distance of 300 kilometres. The transmission line will be linked up with a new 110 kV electricity sub-station in Marrupa that is due to begin operating in July.

Tonela added that the project will eventually lead to 55,000 new connections, with 25,000 consumers being linked this year. He pointed out that clients will benefit from a 75 per cent subsidy on the cost of the connection. Thus, they will only pay the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, 850 meticais (less than 14 US dollars) compared with the usual fee of 3,500 meticais.

Tonela explained that the subsidy has been put in place to ensure that as many consumers as possible take advantage of the new supply.

The Niassa project will enable new connections in the districts of Cuamba, Metarica, Maua, Marrupa, Mecula, Lichinga (in Niassa province) and Balama and Namuno (in Cabo Delgado).

The Minister added that the government’s strategy is to increase continuously the number of consumers linked to the electricity network. He pointed out that “this year we are going to establish 300,000 new connections and from 2020 we project 500,000 new connections per year”.

To fund the government’s projects to expand the electricity network, it has sought funding from the World Bank, Norway, Sweden, and the European Union. This has made available about 200 million dollars.

When Mozambique gained its independence in 1975, less than five per cent of the population had electricity in their homes. In 2015, this had risen to 25 per cent. Today that the number stands at about 30 per cent and the government aims to provide electricity throughout the country by 2030.

Source: AIM