As a firm specialising in market research and data analysis through surveys, feasibility studies and polls, among others, we hope to bring valuable insights through today’s article as we focus on the generation of electricity during the first quarter of 2023.
Information used in this article was derived from a published report titled ‘Electricity Generation and Distribution Stats Brief, First Quarter 2023’ by Statistics Botswana and other sources.
The statistic shows that the Index of Electricity Generation (IEG) stood at 211.9 during the first quarter of 2023, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 39.5 percent of locally produced electricity compared to 151.9 recorded during the corresponding quarter in 2022. The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows an increase of 10.2 percent from 192.2 during the fourth quarter of 2022 to 211.9 during the quarter under review.
Consequently, to supplement domestic power production during the first quarter of 2023, the physical volume of imported electricity decreased by 25.1 percent (92,022 MWH), from 367,001 MWH during the first quarter of 2022 to 274,978 MWH during the quarter under review.
The Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO) was the main source of imported electricity at 62.4 percent of total electricity imports. Eskom accounted for 18.5 percent, while the remaining 7.3, 6.9, 3.8 and 1.0 percent were sourced from cross-border electricity markets, Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM), Nampower and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
Cross-border electricity markets is an arrangement whereby Botswana towns and villages along the border are supplied with electricity from neighbouring countries such as Namibia and Zambia.
Why is this key?
Given as a percentage of electricity distributed, electricity generation is of paramount importance in assessing whether local generation is improving over time to reduce reliance on imported electricity. It was observed that electricity generated locally contributed 76.4 percent to electricity distributed during the first quarter of 2023, compared to 63.5 percent during the same quarter in 2022. This gives an increase of 12.9 percent points.
The world is battling climate change and greenhouse gases are blamed for such effects. Climate change summits are advocating for a gradual shift from the use of non-renewable energy sources to renewable energy sources such as hydropower and solar energy. Botswana still relies on fossil fuels (diesel and coal) to generate electricity. With the current drive to harness alternative energy sources, there is unlimited potential for better returns for investing in renewable energy. For individuals and corporates, green energy is the way to go.
The Government of Botswana is mooting the idea of introducing carbon tax to combat carbon emissions by setting a price that emitters must pay for each ton of greenhouse gas they emit. The Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions avers that businesses and consumers will gradually switch fuels or adopt new technologies to reduce emissions in order to avoid paying the tax and incurring higher energy tariffs.
We hope that this article was insightful and that it demonstrated to some extent the importance of market research or data in business decision-making. As stated above, we offer market research and data analysis through surveys, feasibility studies and polls, among other data-related services.
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