Last year, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) accumulated more than 23.8 million dollars in damages caused by the cyclones that affected the country.

According to EDM's final accounting, the extensive damage in 2022 was reflected in the fall of medium and low voltage power poles, causing the system to be unavailable, affecting around 300,000 customers.

"Adding the damage to infrastructure to the reduction in collections, EDM calculated a loss directly associated with the impacts of cyclones in 2022 of 23,852,265 dollars," the company points out.

The effects, firstly, of storm Ana, which hit the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia, Tete, Niassa, Sofala and Manica in January last year, affecting around 120,000 people and causing 10,814 displaced people. In addition to the effects on the electricity grid, the storm destroyed 23,400 houses, eight bridges, 13 health facilities and 543 classrooms in 249 schools.

This was followed in March by tropical cyclone Gombe, which hit the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Sofala, with wind gusts of up to 230 kilometers per hour, affecting 736,015 people and causing 7,086 displaced people, as well as 78,635 houses and eight bridges destroyed, among other serious impacts.

EDM data indicates that at the end of last year, the company operated a medium-voltage distribution network of 22,992 kilometers and a transmission network of 6,355 kilometers with 15,906 towers.