Botswana electricity generation declined in the first quarter of the year mainly on the back of problems with Morupule B power station, new data has shown. Statistics Botswana’s Electricity generation & distribution Stats brief for first quarter 2016 notes that imported power on the other hand rose in the same period.

The statistics agency said during the first quarter of 2016, the index of electricity generation stood at 105.5, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 14.5% when compared to 123.4 recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2015.

It added that the quarter-on-quarter index of electricity generation decreased by 37.1% in the period under review is compared to the preceding quarter.

“This decrease was largely influenced by plant failures at the Morupule B power station which occurred during the months of February and March 2016. At the end of the current quarter, only one unit was in operation at the power plant while the rest were undergoing remedial works,” it revealed.

During the first quarter of 2016, the volume of imported electricity amounted to 523, 736 MWH, when compared to 451, 092 MWH recorded during the same quarter in 2015, which represents an increase of 16.1% (72, 644 MWH).

Comparison of the volume of imported electricity during the first quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2015 shows an increase of 55.9% (187,805 MWH), from 335,931 MWH in 2015 fourth quarter to 523,736 MWH in 2016 first quarter. The increase in imported electricity was necessary to mitigate against the shortage of locally generated electricity resulting from the operational challenges at the Morupule B power plant.

Meanwhile, Stats Botswana noted that during the first quarter of 2016, electricity generated locally contributed 45.9% to electricity distributed, compared to a contribution of 53.5 percent during the corresponding quarter of 2015 and a contribution of 67.7% during the last quarter of 2015.