Botswana: National Power Supply Expected to Stabilise Tomorrow
Gaborone — The national electricity supply is set to return to normal tomorrow after two days of load shedding caused by a temporary generation shortfall.
The temporary load shedding, which began on April 21, was triggered by the shutdown of Morupule B power station’s Unit One.
This left the 600MW power plant running on only Unit Two, which produces just 130MW.
Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Mr Sandy Mosarwa, said in an interview that Unit One was expected back in operation tonight. He added that Unit Three, which had been offline since last week, should resume operation either by the end of this week or early next week whilst Unit four would be in operation next month.
Mr Mosarwa explained that temporary load shedding was necessary to manage the deficit, avoid the high cost of electricity imports, and prevent a total blackout.
To reduce disruption, he said BPC was maximising alternative sources, including solar power from existing photovoltaic plants during daylight hours.
He urged customers to save electricity during peak times to help ease pressure on supply and limit load shedding.
