..As power supply stabilises
BONGANI MALUNGA
Botswana is unlikely to experience major electricity disruptions during the peak winter season this year, with government officials expressing growing confidence in the country’s improving power generation capacity.
The Ministry of Minerals and Energy says the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is not expected to introduce a large-scale load shedding schedule for the June–July winter period, marking a significant shift from recent years when electricity shortages became a seasonal reality.
Winter has traditionally placed added pressure on the national grid as electricity demand spikes during peak consumption periods, particularly between 6am and 10am and again from 6pm to 10pm. To manage demand and prevent widespread outages, BPC has frequently resorted to rotational load shedding.
OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS
Much of the country’s electricity challenges have been linked to operational problems at the Morupule B Power Station, where recurring technical failures and underperformance of generation units have repeatedly disrupted supply and forced reliance on imports and scheduled power cuts.
However, the ministry says recent progress in stabilising multiple generation units at Morupule has improved domestic electricity output and strengthened confidence in the reliability of supply heading into the colder months.
The cautious optimism follows an incident in April when BPC announced temporary load shedding from 21 to 24 April after a power outage triggered the shutdown of Unit 1 at Morupule B.
LOAD SHEDDING MAY BECOME HISTORY
Appearing before the Government Assurance Committee on Tuesday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals and Energy, Donald Gaetsaloe, said the country’s long-running load shedding cycle may soon become history.
“Load shedding has been caused by the underperformance of Morupule B. With the remedial action that is largely complete and the coming on stream of the 100 MW PB solar stations at Jwaneng and Mmadinare, we expect loads shedding to be a thing of the past,” Gaetsaloe told the parliamentary committee.
Gaetsaloe said government interventions to restore generation reliability and diversify the country’s energy mix are beginning to show results.
NET EXPORTER OF POWER
“We are gradually seeing a situation where we will not have load shedding going forward and Botswana will then be in a position to be a net exporter of power,” he added.
The remarks signal a potentially major turning point for Botswana’s energy sector, with government now placing hopes on both the recovery of Morupule B and additional solar generation capacity to reduce dependence on emergency measures and imported electricity.