Namibia Exporting Power to South Africa
January 22, 15
(IDEX Online News) – Namibian power utility NamPower is currently exporting electricity to its South African counterpart Eskom, which is struggling to meet demand, reports South Africa Press Association (Sapa), citing a NamPower official.
"We are currently exporting up to 200MW of electricity to South Africa," Werner Graupe, senior manager for energy trading at NamPower, told the news source. The electricity comes from the company’s Ruacana hydropower plant on the Kunene River bordering Angola, an area that has experienced strong rainfalls this season.
Namibia usually imports roughly 60 percent of its power from neighbouring countries, including Eskom.
“During good rainy seasons in the catchment areas of the Kunene River, mainly in Angola, where the river has its source, Namibia can export electricity outside peak times, which is late at night,’’ explains the news source.
Eskom is reportedly struggling to cope with South Africa’s electricity demand due to ailing infrastructure and maintenance backlogs.
According to BDLive, a bilateral working group consisting of private sector organizations, government and Eskom has been formed to search for ways to alleviate the country’s electricity supply crisis by brainstorming on how to produce more electricity and manage demand.
Among the diamond miners operating in South Africa are De Beers Consolidated Mines, Rockwell Diamonds, Petra Diamonds and Trans Hex.