Power imports drop 24.1% in Q1

Official figures released by Statistics Botswana (SB) have revealed that the country is importing less electricity and making gains in self-sufficiency likely due to the stable production at Morupule A and B power plants.

During the first quarter of 2021, Botswana imported 37.5% of total electricity, which reflects a 24.1% decrease of 112,453 MWH from 465,701 MWH recorded during the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the quarterly electricity generation and distribution report.

South Africa’s Eskom was the main source of imported electricity at 65.1% of total electricity imports. The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) accounted for 22.1%, while the remaining 7.4 percent and 5.4 percent were sourced from Nampower and cross-border electricity markets.

“Cross-border electricity markets is an arrangement whereby towns and villages along the border are supplied with electricity directly from neighbouring countries such as Namibia and Zambia,” stated SB.

The Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Lefoko Moagi recently noted that through the Integrated Resource Plan, which was launched last year, they plan to have a 15% contribution to renewable energy to the electricity mix and 100% electricity availability by 2030.

“From the beginning of the planning period of 2020, Botswana was relying on electricity imports and I believe that the expected increase in local generation from the year 2024 will significantly reduce electricity import. From the year 2027 Botswana will be a net exporter of electricity,” he said.

The Ministry has developed Rooftop Solar programme to create an environment in which end-users can generate their own electricity and sell the excess to BPC. The system-wide aggregate capacity of the programme in the first 12 months is capped at 10MW. The programme covers household, commercial and industrial sectors.

“So far a total of 73 applications were received with 71 already evaluated by Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). Of the 71 applications evaluated, about 30 will be awarded by December 2021,” he said.

As part of the country’s continued efforts to generate adequate electricity thus meet the local demand, the Ministry has prioritised the 12-grid-tied small scale projects with a combined capacity of 35MW of which six namely Shakawe, Bobonong, Lobatse, Molepolole, Maun and Gantsi have been awarded while the remaining six sites Kang, Tsabong, Tutume, Serowe, Charleshill and Kasane are at the procurement stage. All 12 sites are expected to be in commercial operations by December 2021.

Other plans include the development of a 100MW Coal Bed Methane project, 200MW Concentrated Solar Project, 100MW solar photovoltaic, 50MW wind power project and battery storage to allow the supply of electricity during morning and evening peak hours.

Furthermore, the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) has also noted a rise in the number of private entities applying for licences to self-generate solar.

“The development of renewable energies can enable Botswana to meet the rising power demand, reduce dependency on power imports, diversify generation and energy supply portfolios, mitigate climate change and increase access to reliable, clean energy.”

Electricity Generation Index stood at 140.3 during the first quarter of 2021, reflecting an increase of 22.4% compared to an index of 114.7 recorded during the same period in 2020. The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows an increase of 14%, from the index of 123.1 during the fourthquarter of 2020 to the current index

of 140.3.