The South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwedebe Mantashe, has admitted that the country needs to purchase more power from Mozambique. South Africa in recent days has experienced a deficit in electricity supply owing to the closure of coal-fired power stations.
“We are decommissioning coal-fired stations, and we have taken a concrete measure to replace these power stations with gas technology, and this will increase the amount of gas that we hope Mozambique will provide”, Manatashe said. Gwadebe noted that his Ministry had visited the Mozambican capital, Maputo, to discuss with the Mozambican Energy Minister, Max Tonela.
Mantashe has said the country operated sixteen coal plants. These plants, according to the Minister, ”…are under pressure to close so that they can be replaced by technologies that allow the reduction of carbon emissions. This is an opportunity that Mozambique can grab”.
Mozambican Minister Tonela has reiterated the importance of energy for development. ”Energy is a resource that has to be used for the development of our own economy, but also for export”, Tonela said.