MAPUTO| South African state-owned electricity company Eskom is in discussions with Mozambique’s publicly owned electricity company, EDM, to purchase output from a 415 MW Karpowership power station that will be stationed in Maputo Bay. The offshore power station will burn low-sulphur oil. Eskom decided to pursue this option after declining to sign agreements to procure power from facilities that the Turkish company planned to moor off the South African coast. Discussions with Eskom are ongoing, and an offer has been submitted for their internal review, according to an EDM source. The final off-taker is expected to be the export market due to the exacerbation of the power deficit in some countries in the region, including South Africa.
Karpowership won a tender in 2021 to supply 1,220 MW of power to South Africa, but the deal has stalled due to environmental objections, a lawsuit, and Eskom’s demand for an indemnity against any adverse outcomes from corruption allegations. Eskom has described Karpowership’s demand as irregular and has denied any wrongdoing. South Africa urgently needs 4,000 to 6,000 MW of additional capacity for its own power grid, with total power demand currently around 25,000 MW. The current quantity of electricity produced by Eskom cannot meet demand, and as a result, South African consumers have been suffering rotating blackouts of 10 hours or more a day.
Masimba News