Floods reduce Eskom’s power

car washed away at Pafuri (also

A car washed away at Pafuri when the Mutale River burst its bank Picture: Lyneve Cook

Paul Fauvet

Mercury Foreign Service

MAPUTO: Flooding on the Limpopo River in the Mozambican province of Gaza has damaged the electricity transmission lines from the Cahora Bassa dam to South Africa, cutting the power exported by Cahora Bassa to its largest client, Eskom, by 35 percent.

One of two transmission lines that run from Cahora Bassa to the South African border was knocked out on Monday, according to the dam operating company, Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa.

The force of the flood waters knocked down one pylon on the line, and when that pylon fell, it dragged four others with it. Parts of several other pylons on line two were also under water.

All power supplies from Cahora Bassa to Eskom were now being transmitted along line one or along alternative routes through neighbouring countries. But these lines are unable to carry the full 1 300 megawatts that Eskom usually receives, reducing exports to South Africa by 35 percent.

Eskom spokeswoman Hilary Joffe yesterday confirmed the reduction in power from Cahora Bassa and said it posed a problem for Eskom, but should not cause power cuts.

Meanwhile, plans were under way to build houses for people in Limpopo who lost their homes in the recent flooding, officials said yesterday.

Scores of houses, schools, bridges and roads were damaged during eight days of rain in the province. The hardest-hit districts had not yet been declared disaster zones.

By yesterday afternoon the death toll stood at 10. Four others were still missing.

“The one person is from Thohoyandou, the other is from Giyani and two are children from Musina,” Limpopo Co-operative Governance Department spokeswoman Dieke-tseng Diale, said.

In the Vhembe and Mopani villages, emergency workers rescued 877 people. In Musina, 334 were rescued.

The government congratulated disaster management teams, residents, and the SANDF for their help during the floods in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.