Africa-Press – Angola. The Lomaum dam, in the province of Benguela, is ready to supply electricity to the corridor that connects the municipalities of Cubal, Ganda and Caimbambo, in the short term.
According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Production Company (PRODEL), Pedro Afonso, the expansion of the line depends only on the construction of the transmission network.
The Lomaum dam, built on the Catumbela river, has a current production capacity of fifty megawatts. It was built between 1959 and 1964, and rehabilitated a few years ago.
Regarding the Biópio dam, approximately 40 kilometers from the city of Lobito, Pedro Afonso said that technically he presented some concerns, without specifying them, so PRODEL promptly stopped its operation.
“The province of Benguela has the possible energy supply and we believe that today’s satisfaction index is not the same as yesterday”, considered the PCA.
According to Pedro Afonso, interconnection to the North system allowed the situation of “black outs” (interruptions) in the province to decrease substantially.
“This doesn’t mean they’re over, because the short circuit never warns,” he warned.
He said, on the other hand, that the system is becoming more robust, with the integration of new sources, alluding to photovoltaic plants.
He gave as an example the Biópio photovoltaic plant, with 144.9 megawatts, Catete with 100, Laúca with 400 (near Capanda which has 520 megawatts), and with this expanding the transport and distribution network.
“From 2015 until the end of 2022, there was a reduction in fuel use from 1.3 billion liters of diesel to 0.4 million,” said the PCA.
In his opinion, this situation allowed large investments to be made, allowing the population to be supplied with energy.
Current energy situation in the country
“The country has enough energy to sell, but we need to meet internal needs first,” he stated.
The country is very close to producing seven thousand megawatts of energy, but only consumes around 2.5 thousand, of which more than 98 percent is guaranteed by PRODEL.
The PCA referred to the financial constraints resulting from exchange rate changes and transfers abroad, which affect the manufacturing of parts to guarantee the maintenance of generator sets, which are not made in Angola.
“We need to be cautious so that we can make a comparison to what national production is,” he stated.
He made it known that what the company is doing, based on the surplus, is expanding the distribution network so that populations in remote areas have access to electricity.
PRODEL focuses on the production of electrical energy within the scope of the public electrical system, under the terms and conditions of the concessions.
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