Multi-million Pula revamp for Morupule

24 September, 2010 in Botswana, Business, Morupule

source: Mmegi
MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer

The country’s sole power station, Morupule, will soon undergo a multi-million Pula refurbishment designed to restore the 25-year-old plant to “dependable capacity,” following a long period of poor performance.

The ageing equipment and infrastructure at the Palapye power station has resulted in the 120 megawatt plant operating at about 50 percent capacity this year, with either one or two of its four units down at any given time.

Consequently, the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has been forced to import up to 86 percent of the nation’s power supplies this year, while implementing a load shedding schedule to curb demand side pressures.

Previously, the BPC’s cost-benefit analysis weighed against refurbishing the power station; estimated investment for sprucing up the plant and associated network infrastructure would have been about P500 million, against a benefit of 120 MW, less than 25 percent of current national maximum demand. The BPC also preferred to focus its finances on the Morupule B Phase I project which – when complete in [continue reading]