The local production of electricity in July this year declined by 24.8 per cent compared to the preceding month, with independent private producers accounting for 54.4 per cent of electricity production.

A report by the Namibia Statistics Agency on Tuesday showed that local production stood at 48 192 megawatt hours (MWh) in July 2021 compared to 64 155 MWh produced in June 2021.

Namibia imported 297 297 MWh in July 2021, with South Africa supplying 50.9 per cent of the electricity imported, followed by Zambia with 27.3 per cent and Zimbabwe with 12.4 per cent.

The report said in July, 297 535 MWh of electricity were sold in the domestic economy compared to 284 881 MWh sold in June 2021. Additionally, 8 978 MWh were exported in July compared to exports of 9 015 MWh recorded during the preceding month.

Angola accounted for 53.7 per cent of electricity exports followed by Botswana with 36.6 per cent and South Africa with 6.6 per cent.

The Electricity Sources Composite Index that is composed of own-generated electricity and imported electricity recorded an increase on a monthly basis of 4.8 per cent in July 2021, while in June it registered a decline of 4.7 per cent. On a yearly basis, the index recorded a reduction of 10.2 per cent.

“The annual decline in the index is attributed to a reduction in own generation of electricity, whereas imports of electricity recorded an increase. Own generation of electricity fell by 24.9 per cent on a monthly basis and 69.2 per cent on a yearly basis and the reduction over the year was mainly due to the reduced generation from the Ruacana Power Station that went down by 85.7 per cent,” said the report.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency