Congo risks 50 percent drop in power output due to low rainfall
09/03/2017
Congo Inga Falls
Power production in Democratic Republic of Congo could fall by
nearly half in the next dry season as scarce rainfall has left the Congo River
at its lowest level in more than a century, the state generating company said
on Wednesday.
In a country
dependent on hydropower for nearly all its electricity, the shortfall would
affect the dominant copper industry and other businesses.
Water levels in the Congo -
Africa's second longest river, normally its deepest and a vital artery across
the center of the continent - have fallen 50 percent compared to last year,
said Medard Kitakani, spokesman for national utility SNEL.
That meant levels for the
November-February period were at their lowest in more than 100 years, he told
Reuters.
SNEL currently produces
about 850 MW of power, and "if there is not an improvement in the levels
of rainfall, there is a risk that we will lose 350-400 MW" during the dry
season, Kitakani said.
The dry season runs from May to September.
Kitakani was unable to say how much power production typically falls during
that period but said the potential drop was unusually severe.
The
country's environment minister has blamed the fall in the river's level on
climate change, Kitakani said.
Congo
is Africa's biggest copper producer, and the region of Katanga where the metal
is mined receives only about half the power it needs from the national grid,
forcing operators to rely on expensive generators or power imports from
neighboring Zambia.
Charles
Kyona, president of the industry-led chamber of mines, told Reuters that miners
were concerned about persistent power shortfalls. The chamber has repeatedly
called for further liberalization of the energy sector to address the problem.
"Without
electricity, we don't have the means to effectively work," he said.
Reuters
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