BPC says load-shedding is over
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday November 9, 2022 19:50
Responding to written Mmegi enquiries, BPC spokesperson, Dineo Seleke said internal generation from Morupule A and B amounted to 290 megawatts (MW), while the emergency diesel plants were providing 135MW. In total, the country was generating 425MW against a peak demand of 575MW, with the balance being imported. “The return to service of Unit 2 at Morupule B Power Station on Saturday, November 5 and power imports secured from other members of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) has enabled the corporation to cease load-shedding,” she said.
“The current power supply secured is adequate to meet demand. “The corporation is working towards the restoration of another unit at Morupule B by November 19 which will generate 150MW. “With this additional generation capacity, the electricity supply would be secure.” Last week, parts of the country were plunged into darkness from Thursday, after tube leaks at Morupule, which caused the first load-shedding in the country since 2015. Consumers experienced power cuts of more than five hours, which were compounded by faults, resulting in up to 12 hours without electricity for some areas. The country’s troubles could not be resolved immediately as the region had little electricity to spare. However, on Friday, BPC CEO, David Kgoboko told Gabz FM that 80MW had been secured from Mozambique. The situation last week caught consumers by surprise as the BPC had recently appeared confident of stable generation at both Morupule A and B, which have both benefited from billions of pula in rehabilitation.
According to figures seen by Mmegi recently, plant availability at Morupule B improved to 67% between April and June this year, from 31% in the corresponding period last year. Combined with power from its sister plant, the 132MW Morupule A Power Station, Morupule B took the country through winter, where national demand peaked at around 600MW, compared to an off-peak of about 370MW.