By Petronella Sibeene
WINDHOEK
The 29th Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) management committee meets to discuss imminent power shortages in the region in Swakopmund today.
The agenda of the meeting would be dominated by the electricity supply industry and how to address looming power shortages in the entire SADC region.
Over 120 delegates from participating countries in SAPP are expected to attend the meeting hosted by NamPower.
Paulinus Shilamba, NamPower Managing Director, said the meeting is of significance to regional power supply given the challenge of power shortages.
“Through this forum, SAPP member utilities will interact and exchange ideas on power planning, system operation and environmental issues affecting the electricity supply industry in the SADC region,” he said.
He added that “thinning” power capacity in the region calls for urgent attention on generation and transmission projects, in addition to rehabilitation and refurbishment of power stations.
SAPP aims to provide a forum for the development of a world class, safe, efficient, reliable and stable interconnected electrical system in the region.
Given the power generation shortages in the region, countries saw it fit to promote regional energy trade and thus the Inter-Governmental Agreement creating SAPP was realised in August 1995.
The interest shown for the integration of the sector resulted in member countries identifying inter-country generation and transmission projects.
In 2000, Namibia and Angola signed a bilateral cooperation agreement in the energy sector. The agreement entails that NamPower with Angola’s Empresa National de Electricidade (ENE), study the Baynes Site in the lower Kunene River to see if the site can be developed as a mid-merit peaking power station.
In the same way Namibia and Botswana’s electricity utilities also agreed to build a cross-border transmission line at a cost of US$7.7 million.
The 132 kilovolts transmission line at Omaere was commissioned in April 2006. The high voltage line stretches from Omaere substation, situated about 50 km from Gobabis, to Charles Hill in Botswana and runs to Ghanzi, in northwest Botswana.
Another project aimed at addressing the power deficit in future is the ongoing development of the Caprivi Link.
The Caprivi Link Interconnector Project will be a 400 MW bipolar scheme, upgradeable to 600 MW and will comprise of a 970 km High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) bipolar line with earth return which will connect the new converter stations at Zambezi Transmission Station located near Katima Mulilo, with Gerus Transmission Station located between Otjiwarongo and Outjo. The operating voltage of this bipolar line will be ???_?_’???_?’???_???