Remedial works on Morupule B to complete by 2027
Minister of Minerals and Energy, Lefoko Moagi this week revealed that remedial works on Unit 4, which is the first unit to be remedied at the Morupule B 600MW Coal Power Station, and undergoing defects remediation, have been completed. He said challenges with boiler tube failures were experienced on one of the boiler heat exchangers and a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) was undertaken by the contractor.
He further said the security of supply in terms of adequacy, hinges on the reliability of the power station.
When presenting his ministry’s budget proposal at Committee Stage in Parliament this week, Moagi stated that the Unit has been in service since July 2023 after implementing measures to mitigate Fluidised Bed Heat Exchangers (FBHE) failures.
“The next unit (Unit 3) to be remedied will be taken out of service in June 2024. Remedial works on all units will be completed by mid 2027. The remediation of the plant is financed by the EPC Contractor. I would like to confirm that once all the units have been remedied, the Morupule B 600MW plant will operate satisfactorily with improved plant availability factor,” said Moagi, who is also MP for Ramotswa.
Regarding the 300MW Coal-Fired Plant Base Load IPP Project, Moagi said his Ministry has appointed Jindal Energy Botswana (Pty) Ltd (JEB) as an Independent Power Producer (IPP) to develop a 300MW Net Coal Fired Power Plant and supply electricity to Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a period of 30 years. The minister revealed that JEB is responsible for Designing, Financing, Construction, Ownership, Operation and Maintanance, as well as Decommissioning of the plant once it has reached its economic life.
“The PPA between JEB and BPC was signed in July 2023, paving a way for JEB to begin project financing arrangements and other necessary project preliminary activities. Engineering works (detailed designs) have since commenced including site establishment and establishment of interim construction power (1MW) and water supply arrangements. The anticipated Commercial Operation Date (COD) for the plant is December 2026,” he added.
About the additional 300MW Coal-Fired Plant Base Load IPP Project, the minister told Parliament that the procurement process of JEB for the development of additional 300MW net coal fired power plant is in the final stage with due diligence on the IPP’s proposed Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) Contractors and suppliers undertaken in January 2024. The PPA negotiations, he said, were held with JEB in February 2024 and the PPA is expected to be signed in March 2024.
He pointed out that the successful completion of the first 300MW IPP project together with this additional 300MW IPP project will bring the country to a state of self-sufficiency of power, and the country will be a net exporter of power to the region. He explained that the project is anticipated to create around 5,000 jobs during construction and a 1000 long term jobs during operation and maintenance.