A $2.5-billion plan has been approved by the Mozambique government for a new 2,000 km electricity transmission line from the HCB dam in the Tete province capital Maputo.
The line is expected to help reduce Mozambique’s dependence on South African power after the country experienced its own energy shortage. Just like other members of the South African Power Pool, Mozambique is looking for alternative solutions joining the likes of Botswana and Namibia. The country’s major dam, the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric plant, produces 2,075 MW of electricity with 60% going to South Africa’s Eskom, 35% to Zimbabwe’s Zesa, and only 5% going to Mozambique.
"Without this new transmission line, it’s difficult to advance to the other electricity generation projects that we want to develop," said the country’s Energy Minister Salvador Namburete.
"We want to supply the urban centers of the south from within