The Cahora-Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB) has reduced its energy production capacity by around 50 megawatts due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon in the region.

The information was revealed yesterday, Thursday (11), by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of HCB, Tomás Matola, during the visit made by the President of the Republic of Botswana to HCB, in the province of Tete, in the center of the country.

On the occasion, Tomás Matola said that the reduction was due to the low capacity of the hydraulic infrastructure to absorb water, since the countries upstream, i.e. Zambia and Zimbabwe, are suffering from a shortage of rain.

"The reduction in energy production capacity was an alternative found to, on the one hand, contain the pressure on the generator sets installed at the power station inside the HCB dam and, on the other, to safeguard the useful life of the equipment," explained Matola, quoted by the newspaper Radio Mozambique.

Meanwhile, despite the reduction imposed by the EL Nino phenomenon, according to the hydroelectric plant's PCA, the first half of this year was characterized by record levels in relation to the planned target, warning, however, that "if the situation of water scarcity continues until the start of the next rainy season, electricity production at that project could be compromised".

"At the moment there are no discharges being made into the dam, this is an alternative that aims to retain the small amount of water that comes upstream from the infrastructure," he concluded.

Data from Mozambique's National Meteorological Institute (INAM) indicates that El Niño could aggravate the lack of rain that is already occurring in the country, increasing the severity of the drought and its consequences for communities dependent on agriculture.