In 2023, South Africa bought almost 80% of the electricity produced in Mozambique, which is one of the main energy producers in southern Africa, exporting last year to six more neighbouring countries.
According to the National Statistics Institute’s yearbook for 2023, to which Lusa had access today, last year Mozambique exported a new record of 11,585 GigaWatt-hours (GWh), of which 9,079 GWh went to South Africa, the main customer for Mozambican energy.
This was followed by Zimbabwe with 878 GWh bought from Mozambique, Botswana with 396 GWh and Zambia with 235 GWh.
Small neighbouring countries also depend on Mozambican energy, such as the kingdom of Eswatini, which imported 132 GWh in 2023 and Lesotho, which bought 97 GWh, as well as Malawi, which imported 4 GWh.
In addition to exports directly to neighbouring countries, Mozambique also exported 765 GWh, a decrease from the annual average since 2019 of over 1,000 GWh, to the SAPP (Southern African Power Pool) market, a common electricity network formed by southern African energy companies.
Electricity exported by Mozambique to neighbouring countries grew by 9% in 2023, compared to 2022, to a new high, according to the report and accounts of state-owned EDM, which underlines the country’s affirmation as a regional hub.
‘Our performance in the southern African region is very encouraging,’ said the former chairman of the board of directors, Marcelino Gildo Alberto, in a message included in EDM’s 2023 report and accounts, previously reported by Lusa.
‘Gradually, we are consolidating the goal of making Mozambique the regional energy centre. In addition to the increase in export volumes, in 2023 we increased energy sales to Botswana and successfully concluded the debt collection process with ZESCO, our Zambian counterpart, in the amount of 22 million dollars [21.2 million euros],’ reads the same message.
Lusa
