Load-shedding returns after seven years
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday November 7, 2022 06:00
On Thursday, the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) spent the better part of the morning publishing extensive lists of outages which it said were related to forced outages at “power generation plants” and the shortage of electricity in the region as a whole.
BPC spokesperson, Dineo Seleke told Mmegi that the national demand for electricity was 575 megawatts (MW) versus total supply of 440MW, a figure made up of internal generation, local emergency diesel generators and power imports.
She did not elaborate further on the nature of the power constraints being experienced at the Morupule A and B power stations.
“Recovery of local power generation at Morupule Power Stations (will be) within the next week. In the interim, efforts are in place to secure additional power imports from the Southern Power Pool to cover the deficits to the extent possible,” she said.
The fact that the country is producing 440MW suggests a steep generation crunch at Morupule A and B. Local diesel generation capacity at full steam is 160MW, leaving 280MW to be split between output at the Morupule power stations and power imports.
The latest developments have caught consumers by surprise as the BPC had recently appeared confident of stable generation at both Morupule A and B, which have both benefited from billions of Pula in rehabilitation.
According to figures seen by Mmegi recently, plant availability at Morupule B improved to 67% between April and June this year, from 31% in the corresponding period last year.
Combined with power from its sister plant, the 132MW Morupule A power station, Morupule B took the country through winter, where national demand peaked at around 600MW, compared to an off-peak of about 370MW.
Seleke told Mmegi that consumers can expect electricity black-outs lasting about two to three hours. She added that the BPC would circulate a schedule on the load management in order to better inform consumers.
The latest situation is a painful reminder for consumers of the dark days between 2012 and 2015, when the economy was wracked by rolling power cuts, with equipment and construction defects in the 600MW Morupule B plant causing frequent breakdowns.
However, Minerals and Energy ministry officials recently expressed confidence that the power station’s woes were definitely behind it, thanks to a $1.2 billion rehabilitation, which started in June 2019.
The 150MW Unit 4 was successfully commissioned and tested in June this year and was due to end its 90 day trial run at the end of Septembrer, before being handed over to the BPC.
From there, according to the BPC’s plans also seen by Mmegi, each of the other three units would be taken down and similar overhauls done, starting with Unit 2 in October. Each overhaul is expected to last 354 days, meaning the entire remedial works are due complete in January 2025.