The Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Company (HCB), located in the province of Tete, central Mozambique, announced today, Thursday (19), that it is implementing measures to manage operations in the face of the effects of the continuing severe drought, influenced by the occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon in southern Africa.

In a statement released today and MZNews had, HCB states that these measures have been in place since July, with the aim of guaranteeing a potential achievement of the production planned for this year, offset by exceeding the targets for the first half of the year.

"The measures, implemented on a scientific basis and in accordance with the technical data available, are aimed at safeguarding the hydraulic-operational safety of the dam and related infrastructures, as well as fulfilling the commercial commitments made and guaranteeing the availability of water for production in the coming years," the document states, stressing that these measures take into account the sustainability of the project, balancing the need to preserve water storage with hydroelectric generation.

Further on, the hydroelectric plant points out that at the end of the first half of September, the height of the HCB reservoir was 312.87 meters, corresponding to 44.1% of its useful capacity. This capacity, according to HCB, reflects a "more comfortable situation compared to the upstream dams, which have much lower storages and are implementing one of the most severe regimes of restrictions on energy production, a fact that negatively affects the release of water downstream".

"Because HCB's energy production is so important and indispensable for the energy stability of the country and the region, the company will continue to take all the necessary measures and monitor the long-term weather forecasts, the evolution of the hydro-climatological situation in the Zambezi Basin and the updates to the operating plans for the upstream dams, so that it can make the operational adjustments that are essential for Cahora Bassa in good time," he concludes.