Page 15 - AfrElec Week 13

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
ten years, by providing rural populations, generally with low incomes, with a basic social service for improvement of their living conditions.,” said Marie Laure Akin Olugbade, Managing Director for West Africa for the Bank.
As a part of the National Rural Electrification Programme, PROSER I intends to strengthen the country’s energy capacities and improve the living conditions of the populations.
It plans to build 6,460 km of 33 kV lines, 3,419 km of low voltage lines and 1,394 rural distribution stations. In addition, 11 energy transmission stations will be secured to ensure the continuous supply of electricity to the populations.
AFDB
DEBT
Zimbabwe pays off $44mn debt to SA
Zimbabwe has paid the $33mn debt it owed to South Africa’s Eskom, the country’s energy minister said.
“We will now have to re-engage for additional power supplies,” Fortune Chasi, the energy minister, told Bloomberg. “Our attention will now turn to settling our debt with Mozambique.”
Eskom has electricity capacity available should Zimbabwe, which as suffered daily power cuts for months, request additional supply.
“At this point we have excess capacity, about 7,500 megawatts is available. That’s
due to the lockdown,” Eskom spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha said by text message.
TARIFFS
Botswana hikes power tariffs by 22%
Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) will increase electricity tariffs by 22% from April 1, the regulator said, in a bid to boost revenues for the loss-making state utility, Reuters reported.
The Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA) said the price increases would apply to all categories of users.
“The increase is to ensure tariffs are cost reflective, affordable and appropriately priced. The rate remains one of the lowest in the countries in the region without
hydropower,” it said. BPC has made operating losses for years due to high import costs, non-performing assets and operational inefficiencies, making it reliant on government subsidies to stay afloat.
But it has been slashing costs as part of a turnaround plan that has seen operational losses fall from 2nb pula in 2015 ($168mn) to 72 mn pula in 2019.
Government subsidies have gradually reduced from a peak of 2.3bn pula in 2015 to 800mn pula in 2019.
BERA said that, although increasing tariffs would put pressure on households and businesses already under strain from the coronavirus outbreak, the rise was necessary to enable BPC to cover its operational expenses.
Botswana’s electricity demand now stands at 600 megawatts (MW), mostly met by local coal fired plants and imports from South Africa.
The diamond-producing nation is looking to diversify its supply by introducing solar power and electricity produced from Coal Bed Methane (CBM), a gas found in coal deposits.
Two companies have been selected for
a 100 MW CBM tender and are awaiting a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) offer from the government. BPC has issued tender for a 100 MW solar project.
“In the next two years the country will have at least 130 MW of renewable energy,” BERA Chief Executive Rose Seretse said.
WIND
ABO Wind connects its first project in Africa to the grid
Germany’s ABO Wind has commissioned twelve PV rooftop systems in Tunisia after a construction period of around six months.
The plants with a total output capacity of 1.5MW peak are spread over two locations and six buildings each.
In Testour, solar modules with an output of 900kW peak were installed. In Medjez el Bab the output is 600kW peak. Both villages are located about 40km southwest of Tunis.
“Even though it is a small project, we are pleased about our first commissioning in Africa,” says Managing Director Jochen Ahn.
The potential for renewable energies
in Africa is huge and ABO Wind wants to contribute to exploiting it. “Our colleagues are currently working in South Africa, Tunisia, and Tanzania on the development of wind and solar parks with a capacity of about 2,000MW.”
In total, the plants produce around 2.6mn kWh hours per year. Poulina will probably use 90% of the electricity for its own needs and feed the rest into the grid.
ABO Wind was responsible for the planning, procurement and construction
of the modules. “Especially with regard to logistics, we have gained valuable experience which we can use for our next projects,” said project manager Adnen Ouaz.
Week 13 02•April•2020
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
P15