Mozambique: Power company loses €90M a year due to clandestine connections

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Mozambique: Power company loses €90M a year due to clandestine connections

3:10 CAT | 19 Dec 2019

FILE: For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

State-owned power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) loses about $100 million (€90 million) annually in losses due to clandestine connections, a source at the company told Lusa on Thursday.

In addition to the $100 million, the public company accounts annually for losses of $2 million (€1.7 million) due to vandalisation and theft of equipment in the country.

“The more we expand our services, the harder it is to control. So, the theft of equipment also increases,” Joaquim Ou-chim added.

To respond to these challenges, EDM has adopted awareness campaigns in the communities, in addition to cooperating with the Mozambican police to reduce the damage.

“We have been investing a lot in awareness-raising because many times the community knows who is stealing, but they do not want to say,” he said.

Official data showed that 32% of people have access to the EDM’s electricity grid in a country of about 28 million people, according to the latest population census (2017).

Source: Lusa