Mozambique had more than half a million new household electricity connections in 2023, raising the coverage rate above 50 per cent, according to data from last year’s budget execution, to which Lusa had access today.
According to the government document on the implementation from January to December 2023, the process of “expanding the national electricity network enabled the establishment of 522,824 new household connections”.
Of these, 382,403 were realised through the National Electricity Grid and 140,421 “through isolated systems”.
As a result, the document adds, the rate of the population with access to electricity rose from 47.8 per cent in 2022 to 53.4 per cent in 2023.
Mozambique plans to achieve universal access to energy by 2030 with measures that include the expansion of the electricity infrastructure and off-grid solutions, according to the Energy Transition Strategy (ETS), reported last February by Lusa.
“The expansion of the grid will be fundamental to guaranteeing universal access to energy,” both electrical and thermal, points out the document approved by the government, recalling that, according to the National Electrification Strategy, to achieve this goal in 2030, with a percentage of 70 per cent grid-connected solutions and 30 per cent off-grid, “approximately 2.5 million new grid connections and two million off-grid connections” will be needed.
It also notes that high-voltage lines will be added or upgraded to supply the hydroelectric capacity to be installed after 2030, also to neighbouring countries.
“The additional transmission capacity in the coming years will depend on the growth in national demand and will determine the country’s ability to export electricity. This medium/long-term programme aims to enable the electricity grid to guarantee a balance between supply and demand, as well as maintaining the stability of the electricity grid,” reads the document, which details one of the ETS programmes.
It also states that this expansion includes basic domestic electricity infrastructure, “but also the creation of new green industrial corridors”, namely Nacala, in the north of the country, “with the capacity to absorb and transport renewable energy”.
“The aim is to transport energy to the central-northern system, increase the universal access rate and strengthen the development of a green industrialisation process in the main industrial zones,” it points out.
The document recognises that a “viable interconnected network” is essential and outlines the goal of “expanding and reinforcing” the national network by 2030, to guarantee the supply of 28 to 32 TWh [TeraWatt-hours] of energy, “including the development of national infrastructures and a 15-25% share of renewable energy”.
After 2030, Mozambique will “further expand the grid” to support 55 to 65 TWh, including 30 to 40 per cent renewables, rising to 65 to 75 TWh between 2040 and 2050, half guaranteed by renewables.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said at the Climate Summit last December that the ETS would put the country at the “forefront of climate innovation”.
“This initiative not only puts Mozambique at the forefront of climate innovation, but also positions it as an attractive sustainable investment destination,” said the head of state, after speaking on 2 December at one of the panels of the UN Climate Summit (COP28), which was held in Dubai.
On 27 November, Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy announced investments of 80 billion dollars (73 billion euros) in the ETS, to be implemented by 2050.
In the 2024 to 2030 period, the Mozambican government plans to add 3.5 GigaWatts (GW) of new hydroelectric capacity by modernising existing plants and completing the Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric project.
Lusa
