BPC gobbles large chunk of ministry budget
1.5 billion or 63% will go into power importation and loan settlement
Minister of Minerals and Energy, Lefoko Moagi has proposed P1.5 billion development budget estimates for Botswana Power Corporation ( BPC) to cover up power importation.
Presenting the Ministry’s development Budget proposals to Parliament this week, Moagi requested a provision of P2,3 billion. “A significant portion of the funds, amounting to P1.5 billion or 63 percent of the requested budget, is proposed for Botswana Power Corporation to cover power importation, as well as to enable it meet its loan repayment obligations.”
Among other projects which are funded include the Phase 2 of the Northwest Electricity grid, Rural Electrification and Network Extensions, as well as Network Reinforcement projects.
BPC financial report presented to Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority states that the Purchased Energy ( imports) increased by 40 percent to P1.987 billion in 2022 compared to P569.452 million in 2021.
BPC pointed out that the unsatisfactory performance of Morupule B Power Station ( MBPS) was the key factor in driving the power imports up to meet the national demand shortfall of 1,798.230 GWh ( 45 percent). The corporation recorded an accumulated Loss of P6.1 billion in 2022 rising from P5.6 billion in 2021.
According to figures from Statistics Botswana, the volume of imported electricity in the third quarter of 2023 increased by 33.6 percent to 382,426 MWH from 286,171 MWH during the third quarter of 2022. Moagi said the Ministry has made a significant progress in the implementation of the Integrated Resource Plan ( IRP)
for Electricity Generation which seeks to ensure self- sufficiency in the electricity supply industry for the country.
“The Ministry is implementing a number of power generation and transmission projects to ensure that the country has adequate, secure and reliable electricity supply, including two Coal Bed Methane power projects and coal fired power project signed with private companies, Tlou Energy ( 10MW) and Sekaname ( 6MW).”
He said the NWTG Phase 2 has been concluded, including the basic designs.
“The project is at tender stage with Request for Proposals ( RfPs) for the construction floated in December 2023. The tender closes in April 2024 and the construction period is expected to be 24 months, with commercial operation anticipated in December 2026.”