South Africa’s Eskom purchased 66% of all electricity supplied in 2024 by Mozambique’s Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), despite this being the second consecutive year of decline, at a time when the Mozambican government is preparing to reverse that supply contract.
According to HCB’s annual report, accessed today by Lusa, out of a total of 12,351 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity delivered by the Mozambican state-owned company in 2024, the South African utility Eskom received 8,319 GWh, Mozambique’s Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) received 3,451 GWh (about 30% of the total), and Zimbabwe’s ZESA received 499 GWh (4%).
In addition, HCB recorded transmission losses of 6.76% of total production, compared to 7.60% in 2023.
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo confirmed on June 23 that the process of energy reversion will move forward in 2030, with the end of the electricity supply contract to Eskom, which has been in place since 1979.
This position was stated by the head of state during the ceremony marking HCB’s 50th anniversary, held in Tete province, central Mozambique, home to one of Africa’s largest electricity producers.
“In this year of 2025, in addition to implementing rehabilitation projects, HCB — with an eye on the energy reversion planned for 2030, when Mozambique will take control of its energy generation source with the end of the Eskom contract — must consolidate its role in Mozambique’s energy development,” the president said in his speech, thus confirming intentions already signaled by the previous government.
Lusa reported in February 2024 that the Mozambican government — then led by President Filipe Nyusi — aimed to “repatriate” for domestic use the electricity exported from HCB to South Africa since 1979, starting in 2030.
The position is outlined in the Energy Transition Strategy for Mozambique until 2050, approved by the previous government, which sets this goal for 2030: “The main short-term hydropower priority is the repatriation of electricity from HCB, currently exported to South Africa (8–10 TWh), as well as the addition of 2 GW of new national hydropower capacity by 2031.”
The document also notes that the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant is “Mozambique’s most important,” with a total installed capacity of 2,075 MW (megawatts), and is majority-owned by the Mozambican state.
“Since operations began in 1979, HCB has exported most of its electricity to the South African state-owned Eskom, with a smaller portion supplied to Electricidade de Moçambique. HCB electricity is cheap and clean,” the document reads.
Of the total output, only 300 MW of “firm energy” and 380 MW of “variable energy” are supplied by HCB to the Mozambican state-owned power utility.
“In 2030, the Power Purchase Agreement between HCB and Eskom will come to an end, and important decisions will have to be made regarding the marketing and final destination of HCB’s clean energy,” the document adds.
In the outskirts of Maputo, in the south of the country, stands the Mozal aluminum plant — South African–owned and powered by electricity supplied by Eskom — under a separate supply contract that ends in 2026. This arrangement stems from limitations in Mozambique’s domestic grid, and Mozal is one of the country’s largest electricity consumers, requiring 900 MW.
The planned increase in hydroelectric generation capacity, according to the document, will be guaranteed by the new Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric plant and the construction of HCB’s northern station.
“Mozambique’s unique hydropower resources will form the strategic backbone of the country’s low-carbon energy production and green industrialization ambitions, which are a national priority,” the government stated in the same document.
Source: Lusa
