Africa-Press – Botswana. Government will introduce free household connections beginning April 2024 to increase electricity access by households, which currently stands at 66 per cent while national village electrification is at 81 per cent.
Launching the Mochudi 132/33kV Substation and connection of river villages to the national grid on February 22, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi said the 66 per cent electricity access by households indicated a lag in terms of utilisation of electricity service provided.
To increase the rate of household connections, the President noted that government had reviewed standard connection fees of P5 000 and P2 500 for higher income and low to zero income households respectively.
“Moreover, customers earning only up to P2 400 per month will be provided with the option of free supply of ready box, where a household could not afford the cost of wiring a house,” he said.
President Masisi also emphasised that connection of all the gazetted villages in the Kgatleng District would be electrified and connected to the National Grid by the end of next month.
Buttressing the proverb ‘legapu la makotÅwa ga le na kgodu’, literally meaning ‘beggars can’t be choosers,’ he said over the years, electricity to the river villages was supplied through cross-border arrangements with Eskom of South Africa.
“What a joy to be connected to the national grid! The villages of Mabalane, Sikwane, Mmathubudukwane, Ramonaka, Malolwane, Oliphants Drift and Ramotlabaki will now enjoy the advantages of being part of the national grid,” he said.
He said the development, which was an important milestone for rural development in Kgatleng East, would cushion the villagers against the external shocks of unstable electricity supply over which Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) had no control.
Dr Masisi observed that in the past five years, government had delivered a significant number of five key electricity projects aimed at realising the cornerstones of the national development.
He said the greater Gaborone region as one of the major population centres in Botswana, had, in the recent past, received some attention in pursuit of realising the National Energy Policy objectives of ensuring open access to modern energy services.
In this regard, he said, BPC conducted the Gaborone Reinforcement Study, which identified the pressing need to reinforce the transmission backbone infrastructure to meet the growing electricity demands in communities around the capital city.
The results, he said, led to government undertaking the Transmission Backbone Infrastructure Reinforcement Project, which was conceived to alleviate power supply challenges in Tlokweng, Ramotswa, and Mochudi.
The workflow of the project comprised three components being the construction and installation of Ramotswa 132/33kV Substation, Tlokweng 132/33kV Substation, and lastly, Mochudi 132/33kV Substation and Phakalane-Mochudi 132kV transmission overhead line.
He said completion of the project celebrated in Mochudi was a testament to the commitment to addressing power supply constraints, fostering economic development, and enhancing the quality of life for citizens.
The primary objective of this transmission infrastructure development is to address power quality issues and provide ample capacity to support the increasing load due to rapid developments within Mochudi and other Kgatleng villages.
“I am pleased to further announce that the project was executed within the stipulated budget, with a tender award amount of over P8.5 million for consultancy services and over P148 million for the project implementation. The project was delivered within set timelines and without cost overruns,” he said.
For his part, BPC CEO, Mr David Kgoboko said the Mochudi Power Infrastructure upgrade was one of the key Transmission and Distribution Reinforcement projects.
He said the need for the upgrade was identified through a long-term system planning process, which recommended the installation of a 132kV line and a bulk supply substation to meet the power demand in Kgatleng District.
In addition to addressing the network capacity constraints in Kgatleng, he said the project also enabled the connection of the river villages to the national grid.
He thanked government for the financial support that enabled the corporation to implement strategic infrastructure projects.
Mr Kgoboko said through a competitive open tender process, the corporation enlisted the services of Power Line Africa, in collaboration with a 100 per cent citizen-owned company – Bokone Reticulation & Electrical Systems to undertake the project.
Minister of Minerals and Energy, Mr Lefoko Moagi applauded BPC for a stellar performance in delivering the project.
He said he was pleased that government continued to deliver on its promises to Batswana.
Mr Moagi encouraged Batswana to tap into opportunities brought about by such developments and encouraged communities to always strive to benefit from developments that came to their villages.
DAILYNEWS
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