Namibia has made substantial strides in ramping up its power network, with the government committed to improving electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure with a view to raising electrification rates, particularly in rural areas.
Namibia’s stable investment environment, coupled with progressive reforms aimed at attracting Independent Power Producers (IPPs) – including the consolidation of over 70 distributors into five regional electricity distribution companies (REDs), establishment of a national policy for IPPs and transparent tariff procedures – are all in line with state ambitions to keep pace with rising power demand and reduce electricity imports.
Namibia derives the majority its domestic power generation from the Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station (330 MW), followed by the coal-fired Van Eck Power Station (120 MW), diesel-powered Paratus (24 MW) and Anixas (22.5 MW) Power Stations, and Ombuvu Photovoltaic (PV) Power Station (20 MW).
However, with a peak demand capacity of over 600 MW, NamPower has been unable to generate more than half of the country’s estimated energy needs.
As a result, Namibia presently imports between 50-60% of its annual power consumption from the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), with 40% of those imports coming directly from South Africa’s power utility, Eskom.
With Namibia’s power purchase agreement (PPA) with Eskom expiring in 2025, state power utility NamPower has sought to diversify future import sourcing by signing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nevertheless, more generation capacity is required due to rising domestic consumption, transmission congestion and a decline in surplus generation from the SAPP, for which projected electricity demand could exceed 96,000 MW by 2027.
These and more will be unpacked in Energy Capital & Power’s upcoming Energy Invest Namibia report.
