In January of the current hydrological year 2024/25, the Cahora Bassa Reservoir recorded an improvement in inflows, which resulted in a slight recovery in storage and stability in the reservoir's quota for the hydroelectric production required to meet Mozambique's energy needs, South Africa and other countries in the region through the Southern African regional energy market (SAPP), despite the continuing regional drought situation since the 2023/24 hydrological year, mitigated by the hydro-energy management measures being implemented since 2024.

The forecast inflows for January were 1,100 m3/s, based on what was observed at the time, however, significantly positive and higher flows were observed in the last week of January, peaking at around 4,000 m3/s on January 30, 2025, which improved the average observed inflows to 1,585 m3/s.

However, this level of inflows is still a long way from the historical average inflows in January over the last 43 years, which are 2,642 m3/s. These inflows normally arise from a combination of contributions from the Cahora Bassa reservoir basin itself and turbine water from the Kariba dam and flows from the Kafue river system in the Republic of Zambia, which is currently under hydroelectric production restrictions.

As a result of the improved inflows in January, the final storage for the month, which had been forecast at 19%, stood at 21.7% with increasing trends in the first week of February. During this period, January, the effluent flow was essentially the turbine flow, the one resulting from energy production, which did not deviate substantially from the forecast.

Given the inflows in the first few days of February and the optimistic rainfall forecasts for the next few days of February and March 2025, HCB will continue to monitor the evolution of the hydro-meteorological situation in the Zambezi basin, as well as the operation of the upstream dams, and may make any adjustments to the current operating plan. (Press release)