*Botswana takes one more step towards energy self reliance
After spending billions of pula importing electricity from neighbouring countries, Botswana powering up its journey to energy independence, if the recent developments are anything to go by.
Last Thursday, the Minister of Energy Bogolo Kenewendo signed a landmark deal with a Turkish consortium to finally fix the troubled Morupule B power station which has consistently underperformed since its commissioning nearly 12 years ago.
The consortium includes Ulsan Holding, Thirty-Five Global Links (TFGL), Mercuria Asia Holdings Pty Ltd, and Innovation Global Industries (IGI), all multi-billion dollar companies specialising in large scale power projects globally.
Kenewendo said the refurbishment of Morupule B, will be followed by the overhaul of Morupule A which reaches the end of its lifespan in just two years. She said that the move will strengthen energy security and overhaul the country’s aging electricity network.
President Advocate Duma Boko said Botswana has yet to see returns from Morupule B power station, having lost hundreds of millions on remedial works and electricity imports, funds that could have been spent on other critical national projects.
“Industries have to be powered, the mines have to run, plants across have to operate – they need electricity. We have had to look to investors, and we sat and we profiled the ideal investor for us. We determined that we need serious investors who are prepared to invest for the long term, not investors who come and look for quick and easy profit to go,” Boko said.
“We had to rigorously assess all the investors that presented themselves to us, and it is out of that rigorous process of distillation that we have these eminent investors”.
President Boko criticized ongoing remedial works by the original contractor, China National Electric Engineering Corporation (CNEEC) , noting that the Turkish consortium has now taken over and started immediate work.
The country consumes 700MW during peak demand and 450 MW on nominal demand but only 70% of that demand is generated locally, with the remainder imported.
Meanwhile, in his State of the Nation Address on Monday, the President gave an update on other power projects such as the 600MW Jindal Mmamabule power station; 900MW solar photovoltaic power generation in Maun.
He said the projects that are expected online by end of 2027 aim to eliminate the energy deficit and create potential for electricity exports.
“Our country is positioning itself to partake in the growing global market for renewable energy certificates. In July 2025, we formally tendered our application to the I-track Foundation to become an authorized issuer of International Renewable Energy Certificates (I-RECs),” he said, announcing a bid to create a new revenue stream for project developers and corporate buyers seeking to meet carbon neutrality commitments.
