Mozambique: Energy produced in H1 up 15.3% YoY driven solely by hydro

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Energy produced in H1 up 15.3% YoY driven solely by hydro

5:15 CAT | 26 Aug 2024

File photo: A Verdade

Energy production in Mozambique grew by 15.3% year-on-year in the first six months of 2024, to 10,097,812 MegaWatt-hours (MWh), driven solely by hydroelectric production, according to official figures.

According to budget execution data from January to June, to which Lusa had access on Monday, 85.4% of the energy produced in Mozambique in this period was guaranteed by hydroelectric plants, and 83.2% only by the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant, in this case with a total of 8,396,380 MWh, 57.9% of the target for the whole year.

Electricity production at Cahora Bassa, in Tete province, central Mozambique, once again broke records in the first half of the year, but the management previously warned that in terms of water availability, the dam stood at 316.98 metres on June 30, corresponding to 59.17 % of the reservoir’s useful storage.

‘This storage level, which is significantly low for this period, is influenced by low inflows caused by the “El Niño” phenomenon, which is characterised by a lower than normal level of rainfall,’ the company said, warning of possible constraints in the coming months.

The Cahora Bassa reservoir is the fourth largest in Africa, with a maximum length of 270 kilometres and 30 kilometres between banks, occupying 2,700 square kilometres and an average depth of 26 metres.

Thermal production in Mozambique in the first half of the year, involving eight diesel or gas power stations, fell overall by 8.9% compared to the same period in 2023, to 1,431,364 MWh, with a 14.2% share of the total energy produced in the country.

Production at solar power farms fell by 13.7% by the end of June, to just 45,017 MWh, and a 0.4% share of the total, according to the same data.

Source: Lusa