Morupule B on the verge of collapse

Morupule B Power Station is currently producing at half its capacity after engineers worked overnight on Tuesday to avert a blackout on the eve of a decisive election of Speaker of the National Assembly and endorsement of Vice President this week. 

A source with reliable information said while Unit One has grounded to a standstill because of a malfunctioning fan, other three boilers have been repaired and are producing a little over 50 percent of the required 600 Mega Watt produced by Morupule B. According to reliable information, the three functioning units produce a combined 300 Mega Watt creating a shortfall of over 300 MW to meet power demand. Sources at the plant said engineers have been able to resuscitate Unit two to operate at 121MW, instead of 150 MW.

At 88MW, unit three is also said to be operating at around 60 percent of its capacity, while unit four is reported to be operating optimally at 152MW. However despite the successful rise of the other units, unit one was still reported to be down. The plant operators are said to be working around the clock to ensure that the unit is back up before end of the week. Constructed by Chinese company CNEEC, Morupule B power plant has been plagued by regular boiler failures in the past two years leading to widespread power cuts. Recently Minister of Minerals Energy and Water Resources Kitso Mokaila reported that Unit one, two and four experienced boiler leaks and two engineers from China have flown in and are currently working to rectify the problem.

The promise was that the units will be up and running before end of October. Meanwhile government plans to inject around P2 billion into the financially saddled Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) this year. The planned capital injection will add to P1.49 billion the corporation received through a presidential directive last year to cover Eskom imports, obligations of the Morupule B loan, Morupule Coal Mine bill and operation and maintenance for the Morupule B project.