Energy production at the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB), located in the province of Tete, central Mozambique, increased by 4.77% in the first half of this year, standing at 8.3 thousand gigawatt-hours (GWh), but even with this performance, the company revealed the existence of a low level of electricity storage.
“In the first half of the year, 8,396 GWh of energy were produced, a figure achieved thanks to the cautious management of the project, coupled with the continuous commitment of the work teams to the programmes to reinforce the operation and maintenance of the equipment in the production chain,” the company said in a statement published on Monday (15) by Lusa.
The document adds that by 30 June 2024, the Cahora Bassa dam had a capacity of 316.98 metres, corresponding to 59.2% of the reservoir’s useful storage, and electricity production had exceeded the 3.44% previously planned for the first half of the year.
“This level of storage, significantly low for this period, is influenced by low inflows due to the ‘El Nino’ phenomenon, characterised by below normal rainfall over the region. In this context, in June HCB began implementing a cautious hydro-energy management plan for the reservoir and related infrastructures, in order to balance production needs against water availability to minimise the negative deviation from planned annual production,” he explained.
Quoted in the statement, HCB’s chairmans, Tomás Matola, emphasised that energy production at the dam is important and indispensable for the energy stability of the country and the region.
“The company will continue to monitor the long-term weather forecasts, the evolution of the hydro-climatological situation in the Zambezi Basin and the updates of the operating plans for the upstream dams, so that it can make operational adjustments to Cahora Bassa in good time,” he added.
The state holds 90 per cent of HCB’s share capital, since the reversion to Mozambique, agreed with Portugal in 2007, while Portuguese company Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) has a 7.5 per cent share and Electricidade de Moçambique has 2.5 per cent.
The Cahora Bassa reservoir is the fourth largest in Africa, with a maximum length of 270 kilometres and 30 kilometres between banks, occupying 2,700 square kilometres and an average depth of 26 metres.
At the end of 2022, HCB had 780 workers and recorded profits of 9.2 billion meticals.
