adminexceeded more than 350MW to lapse.
This has shifted probing eyes onto Chinese contractor, China National Electric Equipment Corporation which has failed to complete a new power station (Morupule B) on time after being awarded the tender to construct a 600MW power plant some five years back.
The power station was to start supplying Botswana’s national grid — which requires 500MW during the winter season to satisfy demand — soon after South Africa cut its power back at the end of the power supply deal.
The power supply agreement was entered into between South Africa’s power utility, Eskom and the Botswana Power Corporation at the beginning of 2007 and lapsed in December last year.
Economists have warned of massive revenue and job losses in the mining sector which gobbles up about half of the supplies. The net effect of the power shortages could be a 2 percent slump in gross domestic product.
The entire Southern African Development Community sub-region has been experiencing severe power shortages since the end of 2007 due to high growth and lagging investments in new power sources.
Since the beginning of 2013, rolling power cuts under a tougher-than-usual load shedding programme have been the order of the day throughout Botswana, as the diamond- rich nation’s power utility balances scant supplies with rising demand.
While Botswana’s increasing power demand, up by 3 percent annually since 2008, continues to outpace supply, the 11 billion pula plant, which, it was hoped, would save the situation, has been paralysed by a litany of problems missing the initial October 2012 completion date.
Botswana’s energy minister, Kitso Mokaila, said the new power station will only be fully operational by June this year.
“The contractor contributed, to varying degrees, to delays in the scheduled delivery of the project, with other delays being due to circumstances beyond the control of either BPC or the contractor”, said Mokaila.
Mokaila said he continues to negotiate a contingency electricity supply arrangement with Eskom on behalf of BPC so as to mitigate delays in the delivery of Morupule B.
The energy minister confirms that: “The new supply agreement with Eskom provides for lesser certainty (firmness of supply) than was the case with the previous agreement. This means that BPC is able to access supply when it is available, which means when Eskom is itself able to meet its internal demand”.
Botswana’s old coal-powered power station (Morupule A) (4 x 33MW), which has been in operation for the past 25 years, failed and was removed from the national grid earlier this year increasing the national power deficit.
There is deep concern in government that the energy situation might lead to a crisis of confidence, political instability and crippling of the domestic economy, which the country cannot afford.
Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower public affairs, marketing and communications officer Patience Lebotse is concerned that if the crisis persists, both small and big businesses might collapse.
Tickey Pule, corporate affairs and strategy director at Kgalagadi Breweries Limited, Botswana’s national beer brewing company, said: “When there is no power everything stops and we lose everything.”
For Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, a national communication company owned by government, which also rents out network infrastructure to private mobile telephone companies, power cuts bring not only expenses but also revenue losses. — CAJ News.
Online Reporter