Mozambique: Water shortage could affect power production at HCB

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Mozambique: Water shortage could affect power production at HCB

12:45 CAT | 13 Jan 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Notícias]

A lack of rain, combined with low water availability in the Cahora Bassa (HCB) reservoir, could compromise the production and availability of electricity for domestic and regional markets.

This situation is worrying, especially considering that water storage at the Cahora Bassa reservoir are currently about 20%.

In normal scenarios, during this rainy season, reserves would be around 70 %, equivalent to 30 or 35 billion cubic meters of storage, but the figure is currently at 12 billion, which is unusual. The rainy season in Mozambique begins in October and ends in March, with a peak between January and February.

This warning was given to Notícias by Agostinho Vilanculo, head of the Department of Watershed Management at the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources.

“The problem is that it is not raining upstream. We need 1,500 cubic metres per second, but we are receiving 800, so the level is falling,” explained Vilanculo.

He stressed that this situation is aggravated by the fact that the Kariba Dam, located between Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the Zambezi River basin, is also at a low level, despite being larger than the HCB.

Vilankulo said that this scenario was worrying, especially if the rainy season were to end with little further rainfall.

He explained that Zambia and Zimbabwe, upstream, are already facing power restrictions of more than 18 hours a day, because production is low. power generation at Kariba was only three percent, despite having a capacity of 181 billion cubic metres.

This warning comes six months after HCB began implementing a hydropower management plan for the reservoir and related infrastructures due to low water availability.

HCB produces, transports and sells electricity to Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Southern Africa Power Exchange.

Source: AIM