Electricity demand slows amid economic downturn
Lewanika Timothy | Monday August 11, 2025 10:49
The drop in electricity consumption comes at a time when industries have drawn back on production targets, thus requiring less electricity for production. Data from economic consultancy firm, Econsult, shows that electricity consumption has been slowing from the 3rd quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, with an overall decline of 125 GigaWatt hours (GW) across the three quarters. One gigawatt-hour represents 1 million kilowatt-hours, meaning that the 125 GWh decline in three quarters represents 125 million kWh. An average household in Botswana uses 200kWh and the drop of 125million kWh is the same as cutting 625,000 households from the grid.
The decline in Botswana's electricity consumption reflects potential problems in the country’s economic landscape. Electricity consumption is positively related to economic activity. When production at factories increases and economic output grows, the demand and consumption for electricity also grow, with the inverse being true as well. An electricity expert recently told Mmegi that the decline in mineral output that saw a temporary pause in mining production was one of the reasons why electricity demand had slowed, as mines are some of the major users of electricity. “The decline in mining activity has affected electricity demand. Firms that supply mining inputs as well have reduced production, which leads to smaller demand for electricity,” the expert shared. Debswana, the diamond mining joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, halted production for three months at its Orapa and Jwaneng mines as it looked to save money amid a downturn in demand.
Debswana consumes over 40MW of electricity from Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) annually. Debswana said the decision to halt mining at its mines, attempting to cut costs as it adapts to the lower diamond production laid out by De Beers earlier this year, which continues to target a range of 20 million to 23 million carats in 2025. Debswana had said that it would produce 15 million carats this year, from a capacity of about 25 million carats. To do this, it has implemented a temporary three-month pause in production at Jwaneng Cut 9, covering the May to July production months, as well as a combined temporary pause at the Orapa mine pit and Orapa No. 2 plant. Electricity generation as well tanked with the Index of Electricity Generation from Statistics Botswana showing that it stood at 124.2 in the first quarter of 2025, marking a significant decline of 34.0 percent compared to the 188.2 recorded during the same quarter of 2024. A quarter-on-quarter analysis reveals an even steeper decline of 38.6 percent, down from 202.2 in the fourth quarter of 2024.
A comprehensive overview of key electricity generation indicators covering the period from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2025. The tanking demand may spell more problems for cash-strapped Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). BPC is due to receive an additional P1.2 billion in tariff and operational subsidies in 2025–2026. In the original Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP), which was due to run from April 2023 to March 31 2025, the BPC was due for a subsidy of P1 billion. However, the Corporation in August 2023 secured an extra P1.18 billion through Parliament. The latest figures show that the BPC will get another boost in the financial year that starts on April 1. In total, over the TNDP – whose duration was extended BPC will have received P3.38 billion, instead of the original budget of P1 billion.