Half Of Mozambicans Still Don’t Have Access To Electricity

By Jorge Joaquim

Only 49% of Mozambique’s roughly 30 millions inhabitants have access to electricity, and more than one million of them have only gained access since 2018, according to data from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy.

A second phase of the project is expected to be launched later this year with the government planning to bring electricity to 64% of the population by 2024, minister Carlos Zacarias said yesterday, at a cost of $377m.

Mozambique has the largest power generation potential of all Southern African countries. Power Africa estimates that it could generate 187 gigawatts of power from coal, hydro, gas, and wind.

Most of the power currently generated is from hydroelectric projects, however, natural gas, and renewable energy sources will have a significant impact in the future, with natural gas expected to provide 44% of total energy generation in the next decade.

Despite Mozambique’s huge potential for generation capacity, only a small population has access to electricity. This is due to an underdeveloped transmission and distribution network, lack of financing and the bureaucracy involved in developing new power projects.