The public company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) revealed today that almost 30% of the energy produced in 2022 was for export. The result was driven by the production of the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant, with management pointing to the country's goal of becoming a regional energy hub.

The information is contained in EDM's accounts report, released this Thursday, which highlights that the electricity produced in 2022 in Mozambique amounted to 8146 GigaWatt-hours (GWh), an increase of 6% compared to 2021, and of this total 1730 GWh were exported to neighboring countries, 5% more than last year.

Quoted in the report, the chairman of the board of directors (PCA), Marcelino Gildo Alberto, said that "if, on the one hand, we have the governmental challenge of ensuring that energy fulfills its role as a driving factor for social and economic development, on the other, EDM should, in the coming years, consolidate the country's role as an energy hub in the SADC [Southern African Development Community] region".

According to the document, the electricity produced in 2022 in Mozambique amounted to 8146 GigaWatt-hours (GWh), an increase of 6% compared to 2021, and of this total 1730 GWh were exported to neighboring countries, 5% more than last year.

According to the document, quoted by Lusa, the weight of EDM's electricity exports - supplied to other concessionaires or consumers operating in the countries of the SADC region covered by southern African energy market agreements - amounted to 27% of the 2022 total.

"The surplus energy available at times of low consumption is optimized through bilateral energy export agreements to the regional market," adds EDM.

The company also explains that "maximizing the availability of the additional 150 non-firm MegaWatts (MW) of Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa at times of low national demand, contributed to the increase in exports by 5% compared to 2021".

In terms of demand, the total energy billed increased by 7% compared to the same period in 2021, to 6350 GWh. Thus, taking into account the total production of 8146 GWh in 2022, more than 20% of the electricity produced in Mozambique has not been invoiced by the company.

In the report, EDM also identifies several "constraints" that are impacting the company's operations, such as the "high debts of state institutions", especially in the areas of water supply and health, but also the "difficulty in collecting the debt of the Ministry of Defense and Security".

However, the company also recognizes the "shortfall in funds for the purchase of material for maintenance and meters", the "weak recovery of retroactive energy debt", resulting in the "exponential growth of debt in the system".

Created in 1977, EDM's mission is to produce, transport, distribute and market electricity produced by itself, by the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB) and by Independent Energy Producers.