Power demand reaches 600MW

MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer | Friday June 21, 2013 00:00

 

At this level, the peak demand is the country's highest ever and when combined with restrained internal generation and precarious imports, is also behind the harsher load shedding seen since last week.The peak demand, which represents the highest demand for electricity at any single point by local consumers, is above the estimated 500MW Botswana is sourcing from two emergency diesel plants, one unit at Morupule B and Eskom.The new figure, however, is lower than the corporation's published forecasts, which indicate that demand for power will peak at 644MW this year.

On Wednesday, BPC spokesperson Spencer Moreri told BusinessWeek that the mismatch in power supply and demand continued with the advent of lower winter temperatures widening the chasm.He said the corporation was however confident it would soon resurrect Morupule B units One and Two, whose non-availability is behind the current nationwide load shedding programme. The two units have a combined gross capacity of 300MW.'We are confident that our plans will go accordingly in terms of Morupule B and we should see improvements in the situation in the next few days,' he said in an interview.'Consumers should not panic because all efforts are being made to bring the situation under control. While we are optimistic, we appeal to consumers to continue using electricity sparingly and to adopt a culture of conserving power especially during winter.'

Moreri revealed that the corporation would unveil a new nationwide load-shedding schedule, which recognises the new supply/demand dynamics while also incorporating newly built areas.The BPC has said while the previous load shedding schedule was designed for power shortfalls not exceeding 50MW, current deficits frequently top 100MW.'We have revised the load shedding schedule looking at current supply and demand and this should be issued from Thursday,' the spokesperson said.The local economy and households have experienced power blackouts since February when two units at the new Morupule B developed faults and had to undergo repairs.The load shedding has recently become more prolonged, widespread and erratic as the BPC primary supplier, Eskom, has cut back exports due to higher winter demand in South Africa.