Mozambique is moving ahead rapidly with several power generation projects to meet regional demand and the Mozal aluminum smelting plant, according to the newspaper “Notícias” in its Monday, January 29 edition.
With an estimated capacity of 900 megawatts (MW), the energy consumed by Mozal is mainly supplied by Eskom via the Motraco line, with the contract between the parties set to expire in 2026. Faced with this scenario, the aluminum smelting company is looking for domestic alternatives for its electricity supply in the coming years.
Pedro Nguelume, executive director of Business Development Portfolio at Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), said that negotiations with Mozal were well underway. “An inter-ministerial group is carrying out the study and will give the appropriate answers so that Mozal, as an industry, can have electricity to operate,” he said.
The parties have been discussing viable alternatives, including the Mphanda Nkuwa project, which requires customers with the financial capacity to pay for electricity consumption. Mozambique currently has an installed capacity of 2,400 MW, which could rise to around 2,800 MW with the completion of the Temane plant in Inhambane.
With the addition of the energy generated from Mphanda Nkuwa, the country will have a total capacity of 4,300 MW, enough to meet development needs, with 40% of this energy consumed internally. Pedro Nguelume explained that over the next few years, Mozal’s production could increase from 560,000 to 600,000 tons of aluminium per year, as a result of the investments implemented at the plant.
In order to guarantee a continuous supply of high-quality electricity in the long term, Mozal intends to establish new partnerships in the development of power generation projects.
