BPC surpasses electricity export record

Applies to BERA for tariff increase Exported electricity amounting to P113 million in 2022/ 23

Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi says the country's dependable generation capacity from Morupule A and Morupule B power stations is 450MW and it is inadequate to meet the national electricity demand which ranges from 380MW ( off- peak) to 650MW ( peak). He said in the short to the medium term, power imports and or the dispatch of diesel generators are required to meet peak load. According to the minister it should, however, be noted that during off- peak times, the internal generation is more than adequate to meet demand hence Botswana Power Corporation ( BPC) exports electricity to the Southern African Power Pool when supply exceeds demand. This, he said is dependent on the performance of the Morupule B power station. “BPC in this financial year 2022/ 23 exported electricity amounting to P113 million surpassing the record maximum of P38.5 million which was realised in 2018. This is a significant improvement of 258 percent. Morupule B power station is undergoing defects remediation to improve the reliability of the plant and security of the power supply for the country”, Moagi said this week. The minister told Parliament that in the long term, the Ministry is implementing the Integrated Resource Plan ( IRP) which entails the development of new generation projects that will contribute to a new generation mix comprising coal, solar and gas- based generation. The new generation capacity will be provided by Independent Power Producers ( IPPs) selling power to BPC. It is expected that 300MW of coal- based new generation will be on the grid by end of 2026, while 235MW of solar PV generation will be commissioned between 2024 and 2026. He indicated that the Kgatleng villages along the Limpopo River are expected to be connected to the national electricity grid by the end of July 2023, when the Mochudi substation and connection lines are completed. “The tender to engage contractors to connect Borolong Villages of Mokatako, Leporung, Dikhukhung and Sedibeng to the national grid has been awarded and the project is anticipated to be completed by the end of July 2023. “The remaining villages in the area will be connected once the 66kV substation and lines from Lobatse are constructed. A portion of the budget for the project has been provided in the 2023/ 24 and the rest will be provided in the 2024/ 25 budget”, Moagi revealed. According to the minister, the transfer of Kgalagadi South villages from the Eskom grid to the national grid requires the development of a 520km 220kV line from Thamaga to Tsabong and 280km of 33kV line from Tsabong to Werda, and Bokspits. The project is at the preparation stage and is planned to be completed by 2025/ 26, he said, adding that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments ( ESIA) and the Engineering Consultancy studies will commence this financial year.“Remedial works on Unit No. 4, the first unit to be remedied were completed in September 2022 and the unit is back in operation. Some technical challenges were experienced in one of the boiler components and the deficiency in the design is being corrected after an analysis was conducted to determine the root cause. The remaining three units are scheduled to undergo remediation in sequence from January 2024 to May 2026. Moagi who was responding to a question in Parliament stated that currently, the electricity tariffs charged by Botswana Power Corporation are below the cost per unit of supplying electricity to customers. This being the case, the tariffs are likely to steadily, and progressively increase until they reach cost recovery levels, he said, revealing further that in a bid to attain cost- reflective tariffs, the Corporation has applied to the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority ( BERA) to consider a tariff increase.

The minister stated that the recentlycompleted project which entailed the construction of a 132kV line from Legotlhwane to Ghanzi has successfully managed to transfer the Ghanzi from the Namibian supply. “This project was to develop transmission infrastructure to achieve the latter and a distribution network still has to be constructed to connect Kuke and Qabo. The current provision towards the Village Electrification project is only P50 million and unfortunately has not catered for these villages. “The plan is to include them in the next financial year ( 2024/ 25)”, the minister said when responding to a question from MP for Ghanzi North John Thite who wanted him to appraise Parliament on information purporting that Botswana has adequate power supply to meet the country's demand and is on the verge of exporting power to South Africa. Thite had also wanted the minister to elucidate on the connection of some Botswana villages that are still connected to the South African grid.