Palapye power plant breaks down again

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Friday May 14, 2010 00:00

 

The Morupule power station that supplies some 120MW of electricity throughout the country is understood to have broken down over the weekend, the BPC has confirmed, but would not elaborate.

The latest barrage of blackouts has even forced people to visit family and friends in other parts of town for food, as the BPC has started engaging in a surprise electricity rationing exercise.

BPC spokeswoman Tlhomamiso Selato confirmed the power cuts that have characterised life in Gaborone this week and said they are mainly due to the breakdown at the Palapye plant. She would not immediately explain the nature of the problem or how long it will take to rectify it.

At the time of going to press, she said the questionnaire would be sent to relevant experts in her company.

It is not the first time that the Palapye power plant has failed the nation. During the winter of 2008, one of the generators at the Morupule power plant broke down, resulting in the power plant operating at only 50 percent capacity right into the year 2009.

There are already fears that it might take over six months to repair the current problem at Palapye, spelling a harsh winter period for many families who need electricity to keep warm.

The break down of the Morupule power plant coincides with the BPC announcement that Botswana would experience power shortages from South Africa during the World Cup period, as that country, which has already started reducing its power exports to Botswana, uses its already strained resources to run the World Cup.

Some extra 500 000 visitors are expected to throng South Africa during this period, June to July.

Already, South Africa has cut its supply to Botswana from 350MW to 250MW early this year as a result of its own constraints at home, but they have further warned that they will reduce the power supply during the critical period of the World Cup. It is not known just how much more power South Africa will cut during this period.

In December last year and January 2010 the country experienced power outages with the BPC confirming that they are running short by 150MW due to what they said were temporary hiccups in South Africa.

Early this year Botswana opened a new 70MW power station at Makalamabedi, while a further 50MW of electricity started flowing in from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Another 100MW power supply deal was concluded with Mozambique and Namibia in January to fill the shortfall.