Luanda - The Executive intends to increase the electrification rate throughout the country from 43 to 50 percent by 2027, said this Thursday in Luanda, the Secretary of State for Energy, Arlindo Bota Carlos.
The official was speaking at the opening of the 13th Water, Energy and Environment Forum, promoted by the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone, in partnership with the European Union Young Entrepreneurs Organization (JEUNE).
He mentioned that 10 of the 18 provinces are interconnected to the national transport network, with a surplus of energy production, and it is a priority for the sector to interconnect with the other provinces, by the year 2027.
He made it known that the country has achieved, in recent years, exponential growth in its installed electrical energy production capacity, having increased, in the last 8 years, from 2400 MW, in 2015, to 6200 MW.
The 39% of hydro generation has now been catapulted to around 60%.
Thermal generation declined from 61% in 2015 to around 36% in 2023, representing a simultaneous decrease in annual diesel consumption in thermoelectric plants from 1.36 billion liters in 2015 to around 560 million liters consumed in the year 2023, representing a decrease of almost 60% in 8 years.
According to the Secretary of State, this development was due to investments in the sector, with emphasis on the completion of the Laúca Hydroelectric Power Plant, which has a production capacity of 2070 MW, and construction of the Caculo Hydroelectric Power Plant is also underway. -Cabaça, which when completed will contribute to achieving the production target of 9000 MW.
He said, on the other hand, that, as an expression of concern for the preservation of the environment, the sector has continued with sustainable diversification actions of its energy matrix, having completed, in 2022, the Biópio photovoltaic plants, with around 188 MWdc, and Baia Farta, with around 97 MWdc.
These plants, he added, contribute approximately 4% of the public electricity production matrix, allowing an annual saving of three million tons of fossil fuels and, consequently, a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the order of nine (9) million tons. tons.
He also mentioned that this electricity production matrix includes the first phase of the Caraculo Photovoltaic Plant with around 25 MWdc, in a project that is expected to reach 50 MWdc.
He also recalled that structuring programs to mitigate the consequences of the cyclical drought are being implemented, with, above all, in the southern region of the country, projects capable of providing solutions to problems resulting from the effects of the drought in the south, desertification and lack of infrastructure have been developed. resilient.
He highlighted the implementation, in the province of Cunene, of important infrastructures for the provision of water, through flow transfer, such as the Cafu canal, 165 km long, whose pumping station is designed for 6m³/s, being , at the current date, a capacity of 2 m³/s is being used.
As ongoing actions, he highlighted, the construction of the Calucuve dams on the Cuvelai river and the Ndue dams on the Caundo river and its associated channels, in parallel with other projects under construction on the right bank of the Cunene river and in the province of Huíla.
In addition to actions to combat the effects of the drought, he said, the Executive has projects in its portfolio that contribute to improving the reliability of the supply of drinking water, with all provincial capitals and a significant number of municipal capitals currently covered by the network. public water supply.
The actions provide a better quality of life for the population, through a significant reduction in water-borne diseases, such as cholera.
In relation to wastewater, he stressed that several actions are being developed, including studies, aimed at attracting financing for the construction of wastewater treatment plants, mainly in the capitals of provinces, municipalities and communes with the aim of improving the sanitary conditions of populations and the fight against water-borne diseases.
He praised the meeting, considering that it adds fundamental variables to human life, “because water is life and its kinetic energy results in the production of electricity necessary for the vital needs of humanity”.
According to Arlindo Bota Carlos, the African continent, with the profusion of water and energy resources that is well known, has registered an increasing rate of electrification in recent decades, with this, in Sub-Saharan Africa, rising by 25.7% in the year 2000 to 50.6% in 2021, according to data from the multilateral institution World Bank.
Around 80 experts, including nationals and foreigners, participated in the meeting. ASS/VC/DOJ
