The situation of power supply in Botswana is expected to gradually improve with recovery of Morupule B units and on-going efforts to secure power imports from South Africa and other member countries of the Southern African Power Pool.
It is expected that the supply constraints will ease by mid-June 2025. However, the security of supply will only be at the desired level post by 2027 when new coal fired base load generation would be on the grid.
This is as the Morupule B remedial works project which commenced in 2019 and was supposed to be completed in 2022 is insignificant due to some technical challenges and the Covid 19 global pandemic. The maintenance aimed at improving plant reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM).
The minister of minerals and energy Bogolo Kenewendo revealed this in parliament when delivering a statement on power supply challenges and measures to improve security of supply this week.
Despite the challenges, Kenewendo has revealed that they have put in place medium to long term power supply measures. She noted that the government is making progress towards developing a sustainable energy mix which will ensure adequate and reliable electricity supply to the economy in addition position the country as a net exporter of electricity in the region.
She stated that the government is making progress towards achieving its goals of self-sufficiency in power generation and attainment of 50% contribution to the energy mix from renewable energy sources.
According to Kenewendo, a plan is in place to secure a 615MW base load coal fired power station which is expected to take 18-24 months to address the prevailing Morupule B plant challenges. She indicated that the development of a 600MW coal-fired power plant in Mmamabula has commenced and it is expected to provide new capacity in 2027.
‘‘The first utility-scale solar PV plant, Phase 1 of the Mmadinare Solar Cluster with a capacity of 50MW achieved commercial operation on 12th March 2025. The second phase of the project reached financial close on 19th December 2024, enabling commencement of the project, which is expected to provide another 50MW of clean energy by the end of the year,’’ she said.
In addition, Kenewendo stated that the Jwaneng 100MW solar PV project is in the final stages of reaching financial close, which is expected by the end of April 2025, indicating that this project is expected to be in commercial operation by the end of 2025. She added that two small-scale grid-tied solar PV projects are at the financial close stage and are expected to be in operation by the end of this year (2025). She said that her ministry is working to increase the capacity of these projects, which is currently 26 megawatts adding that the projects are being implemented by Batswana.
‘‘In line with the objective to secure 50% generation contribution from renewable energy resources by 2030, the ministry resolved to revise the scope of two solar projects that had been planned for Maun (200MW Concentrated Solar Plant) and Letlhakane (100MW solar PV),’’ said Kenewendo.
As a result, Kenewendo noted that BPC will continue to operate two diesel generations plants, namely Orapa 90MW Turbine Power Plant and Matshelagabedi 70MW Diesel Plant, noting that these are very high-cost generation facilities only dispatched under grid emergencies to avoid grid failure.
She further stated that the Orapa 90MW Turbine Power Plant has dual fuel (diesel and gas) operation capability, revealing that in the medium term, BPC is pursuing a project to convert the Orapa facility to gas operation using imported gas and switch the local gas (Coal Bed Methane ‘‘CBM’’) when CBM is developed to commercial production levels.
Kenewendo highlighted that the capacity of the plant will be increased to 130MW through conversion of the facility from the Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) technology to Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) technology. She said that the Matshelagabedi 70MW Diesel Plant will be decommissioned when new base load generation is secured.
‘‘To improve the performance of the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) and ensure its sustainability, the ESI structure to create a viable and sustainable power sector is under review. In this regard, PEEPA is conducting a study with a view to determine the optimal structure for the ESI structure,’’ said Kenewendo.
