Namibia imported more electricity in July

PHILLEPUS UUSIKU

Namibia imported more electricity in July 2021 when compared to June 2021 due to a reduction in own generation of electricity.

According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), own generation of electricity fell by 24.9% on monthly basis and 69.2% on yearly basis. The reduction over the year was mainly due to the reduced generation from the Ruacana Power Station that went down by 85.7%.

Local production of electricity stood at 48 192 MWh in July 2021 compared to 64 155 MWh produced in June 2021. For the electricity generated locally in July 2021, the independent private producers accounted for 54.4% of electricity production, NSA pointed out.

Namibia imported 297 297 MWh of electricity in July 2021 with South Africa supplying for 50.9% of the electricity imported followed by Zambia (27.3%) and Zimbabwe (12.4%).

The domestic sales index recording an increase of 4.4% month-on-month while registering a growth of 2.8% on an annual basis. The monthly rise in domestic sales mainly emanates from sales to redistributors and mines.

The export sales index posted a monthly marginal decline of 0.4% in July 2021 compared to an increase of 1.1% registered in June 2021. On an annual basis, the index went down by 7.5%. The monthly decline in electricity export was destined to Eskom Aggeneis, NSA added.

In the month of July 2021, a total of 297 535 MWh of electricity was sold in the domestic economy compared to 284 881 MWh sold in June 2021. Additionally, 8 978 MWh of electricity was exported in July 2021 compared to exports of 9 015 MWh recorded during the preceding month. Angola accounted for 53.7% of electricity exports followed by Botswana (39.6%) and South Africa (6.6%).

Overall, the electricity sources composite index that is composed of own generation and imported electricity recorded an increase on a monthly basis by 4.8% in July 2021, whereas in June 2021 it registered a decline of 4.7%, NSA said.