Information on Angola's electricity induxtry is often hard to find with Angola ’s electricity generating capacity as of January 1, 2001 being estimated at 0.6 million kilowatts. Only 15% of Angola ’s population has access to electric power, and blackouts occur frequently for those who do have access to electricity. The Angolan Ministry of Energy and Waters has projected that $500 million is necessary to rebuild infrastructure destroyed in the war.
Angola ’s electricity is supplied through three separate systems. The Northern System supplies the provinces of Luanda , Bengo, Kuanza-Norte, Malange and Kuanza-Sul through the Cuanza River , while the Central System provides for the provinces of Benguela, Huambo and parts of Bie using the Catumbela River . The Southern System supplies to Huila and Namibe using the Cunene River . The government aims to link the systems to create a national grid through the South Africa Power Pool (SAPP).
Hydroelectric facilities generate more than two-thirds of Angola ’s electricity. The Matala dam, which began operations in 2001 on the Cunene River , is the main source of electricity in southwest Angola . The Cambambe dam (180 MW) on the Kwanza River , the Mabubas dam (17.8 MW) on the Dande River , and diesel generators are the main sources of electricity in the north of the country. A 24-MW dam is being built by a diamond company, Catoca, on the Tchicapa River in northeastern Angola , and Angola announced construction of a 600 KW dam in the Uije province in June 2004.
Angola intends to recover the productive capacity of the Empresa Nacional de Electricidade (ENE), the state-owned electric utility, by rehabilitating its hydropower stations. Gove, a nonfunctioning station, is expected to be rebuilt following a February 2003 agreement with Namibia to jointly rehabilitate the dam. Construction of a new Cunene River dam at Epupa Falls has also been proposed.
Two agreements of understanding are poised to be signed by members of the Western Corridor Project (Angola , the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Namibia , Botswana , and South Africa ) to build an electricity transport line from the Inga Dam (DRC) to South Africa , running through each of the nations involved in the agreement. The project will also include the construction of a central station with a capacity of 3,500 megawatts (MW).
Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company, has partially completed the construction of a hydroelectric facility at Capanda on the Kwanza River . Work on the 520-MW plant began in the mid-1980s, but was suspended due to the civil war. The first of four planned hydraulic turbines began generating electricity in January 2004; a second turbine is expected to be operational in April 2005. The completed Capanda project will nearly double Angola ’s electricity generating capacity.
The government plans to create a national grid, linking the three regional electricity sectors, and establishing linkages with neighboring countries. The additional generating capacity from the rehabilitation and greenfields projects, together with the national grid system could enable Angola to become an exporter of electricity to neighboring countries.
An agreement formalising the entrance of the National Energy Comapny (ENE) and the Luanda Electricity Distribution Company (EDEL) into the Central African Electricity Pool, was signed in Luanda in May 2005. The Central African Electricity Pool aims to interconnect networks and enable members to explore hydroelectric potential in the region.
The Minister of Water and Energy announced that a project to improve the production, transportation and distribution of water and electricity in Angola has been devised. Details of the project were not given, but it appears that the production of electricity from the Capanda dam hydroelectricity scheme is to be increased to meet the needs of more people. As far as the distribution of water is concerned, a project to increase the distribution of water in Luanda city is already underway and programmes designed to increase the availability of water in central Benguela and southern Cunene provinces are being implemented. Regarding the other provinces, the Minister said that existing infrastructures would be recovered using funds from the governments of China and Germany.
Two power generators of 45 KVA each have been installed and rehabilitation of the road linking Quilengues and Cacula village, a health centre, a primary school and cattle breeding actions are in progress, under the Public Investment Programme.
Angola and Namibia signed a bilateral cooperation agreement in the field of energy and have considered the development of a hydroelectric facility on the Kunene River. Two sites that have been considered are at Epupa Falls and at the Baynes Mountains, although the Epupa Falls location has met opposition from environmental groups and local communities.
The results of a US$7 million international feasibility study of the Epuqa Falls project indicated that the Epupa Falls site would represent the best option economically. However, the displacement of the local Himba people coupled with the environmentally sensitive location of the site has meant that progress has been slow. Namibia’s NamPower believes the Epupa Falls site is the best technical and financial option and would like to see the project in operation by 2007.
