The new power station is a peaking plant, meaning the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) will tap into it as and when available capacity dips - essentially the Orapa station exists to eliminate the need for load shedding. With national peak demand ripping through the 500 MW barrier last year and all forecasts indicating an upward acceleration in this regard, the new power station is a welcome addition to the BPC's arsenal of supply-side interventions. These include the 120 MW from Morupule A station, 150 MW fixed supply from Eskom and options in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); in addition the BPC can tap into the 70 MW peaking plant at Matshelagabedi and soon this will be possible with the Orapa power station. Weighing against these sources are estimates that national peak demand could rise to 700 MW this year, with the recovery in the mining industry, which accounts for 44 percent of electricity consumption.
The Orapa station, therefore, is a stopgap measure necessary until the much-anticipated 600 MW Morupule B power station comes on stream next year. However, as joyous as households and industry are that the Orapa station has been commissioned, the development is tainted by the frightening costs the economy will have to bear kilowatt for kilowatt whenever the plant is operated. The dual-fuel station will require 35 000 litres of diesel to power its two turbines every hour or 292 000 litres every eight-hour generating cycle. The steep costs could spiral out of control as crude oil prices are threatening to breach the US$100 per barrel limit. President Ian Khama in his State of the Nation Address highlighted the high costs of this "emergency power" last year in noting that: "the various emergency energy supply interventions will cost government more than P3 billion over the next three years". Thus the commissioning of the Orapa station is again a reminder of the price the economy will pay for the hesitance of yesteryear planners to boost domestic power generation. Not all is lost, however. Government and its development partners at the Orapa station would do well to fast track the changeover from diesel power to Coal Bed Methane (CBM) at the turbines.
