(Bloomberg) — Namibia is exploring the option of using barges with power plants to help plug an electricity shortage that may reach 300 megawatts in the next two years, Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein said.
Namibia imports about half of its electricity from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, according to Schlettwein. Electricity capacity in the region is under severe strain as Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned utility, struggles to meet demand and breakdowns at plants in Zambia and Zimbabwe disrupts output.
“Doing nothing is not an option,” Schlettwein said. “We’re facing a deficit because we’re not currently self- sufficient.”
The government is seeking temporary solutions because of declining power capacity in the southern African region and as some agreements on electricity imports come to an end by next year, the minister said. One of the contracts that will expire next year is with Eskom, according to Namibia Power Corp., the state-owned utility known as Nampower. Schlettwein didn’t provide details on how much the interim measures will cost.
Namibia’s peak power demand is 524 megawatts and supply from local sources is 300 megawatts, Nampower said in April. The country is the world’s biggest offshore diamond miner and fifth- largest producer of uranium.
“One of the options is to barge,” Schlettwein said. “It’s one of the temporary solutions we’re looking at.”
Using power supply from barges is expensive and doesn’t increase the nation’s electricity capacity once the term of the contract ends, he said.
“It’s a costly option,” he said. “The option of no power is more costly.”
Karpowership, a unit of Istanbul-based Karadeniz Holding AS, provides electricity from vessels moored offshore. It agreed last year to supply Ghana with 450 megawatts of power for 10 years. Other African nations that have used power ships include Angola and Nigeria.
