Communication - Presse

Cahora Bassa boosts hydropower production in Q1

Electricity production in Mozambique increased by 3.1% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2022, thanks largely to production at the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB), according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance consulted by Lusa.

According to the economic and social balance of the execution of the State Budget from January to March, hydropower production – the production of electricity from dams – represented, 84.5% of the total for that period, a year-on-year growth of 3.5%, essentially guaranteed by HCB, with a total weight of 82%.

“HCB recorded a production growth of around 3.1% compared to the same period in 2022″ the report reads. “However, in the coming months, it expects a reduction in generation, due to the projected need for intervention in the return channel, which is shared by generator sets 1, 2 and 3, a fundamental activity to guarantee the safe operation of these generator sets, in addition to being part of the ReadSul II project, which aims to rehabilitate and modernise equipment to maximise installed capacity.”

The hydropower plants of the state-owned Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM) recorded a growth of 28.9% compared to the same period in 2022, “influenced by the substantial increase in production at the Corumana hydro plant as a result of the rehabilitation of the Moamba-Major dam, which increased the availability of water to the Corumana dam, increasing electricity generation”.

With a total weight of 15.1%, electricity production from thermal and solar sources increased by 30.7%, but with a weight of only 0.4% in the total structure.

The second-largest electricity producer in Mozambique in the first quarter of 2023 was the natural gas-fired Ressano Garcia Thermal Power Station, a joint venture between Azura Power and EDM, which operates a natural gas unit with an installed capacity of 175 megawatts. From January to March, the Ressano Garcia Thermal Power Station supplied 5.5% of all of the electricity produced in the country.

The Cahora Bassa hydroelectric plant, the country’s largest electricity producer, is majority-owned by the Mozambican state and has been classified as the Mozambican public company with the best financial health – the only one in ‘Category 1’, i.e., with a “very low risk” of failing commitments, according to an analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation, in October 2022.

According to its financial statements, HCB paid the Mozambican state around 239 million meticais (€3.4 million) in concession fees in 2022.

PLUS D'ACTUALITÉS

Partager cette page Partager sur FacebookPartager sur TwitterPartager sur Linkedin