- South Africa’s cabinet has welcomed the signing of an agreement that will see Mozambique supply South Africa with 100 megawatts of electricity within the next three months upon the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement.
The next three to 12 months will see South Africa importing up to 1 000 megawatts of electricity from Mozambique.
The largest power generation plant in Mozambique is the 2075MW Cahora Bassa hydro dam, operated by the government-owned Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB). HCB already sells 65% of its existing generation to South Africa, and the remaining 35% is sold to the northern regions of Mozambique.
Cabinet further welcomed continuous improvement in Eskom’s generation capacity, which has ensured the utility registers over 60% Energy Availability Factor. But “Cabinet extends its appreciation to South Africans for their contribution in lowering the demand for electricity, which has contributed to Eskom being able to maintain lower stages of load shedding. In reality, the availability factor in 58.22% – read more
“Saving electricity is a shared responsibility and an action from which all of us benefits,” Cabinet said in a statement.
Cabinet has also expressed appreciation for a donation to South Africa by the People’s Republic of China of emergency and small-scale generation equipment, valued at R167 million.
“A deployment plan is being developed to ensure the donated equipment is installed in public facilities which will, as a result, be isolated from load shedding. A formal handover ceremony will take place as soon as the goods are cleared by South African customs authorities,” Cabinet said.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Source: SAnews.gov.za
