Namibia recorded a decrease in electricity generation of about 69.2% from 2020 to 2021 in total; this was mainly due to the reduced generation from the Ruacana Power Station that went down by 85.7% in July 2021.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the country’s production of electricity stood at 48 192 MWh in July 2021, of which 54.4% came from independent private producers.
An RDJ Briefing for September 2021 stated that despite generating less electricity, demand for electricity in Namibia was higher in July, with a total of 297 535 MWh sold in June 2021.
According to NSA, the monthly rise in demand emanated from sales made to redistribution, large power users and mines.
Namibia imported 297 297 MWh (11% monthly increase) of electricity in July 2021 with South Africa supplying 50.9% of the electricity imported followed by Zambia (27.3%) and Zimbabwe (12.4%).
“From 2020 to 2021, Namibia also recorded an increase in imports of about 30.4% to cater for the local demand due to insufficient local supply. These imports were mainly from Eskom (South Africa), Zesco (Zambia) and the Zimbabwe Power Company,” reads the briefing.