The Electricity Control Board (ECB) has approved the granting of renewable energy generation licences to private power producers which will add some 88MW.
ECB Chief Executive Officer Robert Kahimise said at a Board meeting held on 7 September, the regulator approved the following generation licences;
- ANIREP Solar for 25,33MWp for Dundee Precious Metals
- Inceptus Energy for 0,9036MWp for the University of Namibia (UNAM) Main Campus
- Paratus Telecom for 0,9MWp for its own use
The ECB Board also agreed to amend the generation licence of Solnam, increasing the capacity from 13,2MWp to 60,65MWp. The power generated by Solnam will be sold to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
So far, the ECB has issued generation licences amounting to 1,2GW for export targeting SAPP, while the evacuation capacity for export is 780MW.
The ECB has also in the meantime declined generation licences for Windnam Energy, Ino Investment and TerraWatt Africa, citing capacity constraint to evacuate the power generated. The power producers had intended to produce energy for sell to SAPP.
Kahimise gave an update on the Modified Single Buyer (MSB) market model which he said had shown positive progress in terms of market liberalisation, increased competition, and expanded customer choice.
The MSB is an electricity market model which allows registered contestable customers and licensed eligible sellers to transact with each other directly for the supply of electricity of up to 30% of the customer’s energy requirements. The main objective of MSB is to provide a framework to facilitate competitive electricity trading and allowing for greater participation with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the market.
“Currently, out of 26 eligible contestable customers 20 are already registered and three of the remaining six have applied to the ECB for registration which process will be finalised before end of September 2023. All of the registered contestable customers are at different stages of negotiations with potential IPPs for the supply of electricity on bilateral agreements,” Kahimise said.
Currently, Rosh Pinah Solar Park, Skeleton Coast Trawling and Namibia Poultry Industries were operational and supplying electricity in accordance with the MSB market model.
However, Kahimise said the implementation and ongoing operation of the MSB framework has not been free of challenges. These challenges include ensuring a level playing field for all market participants, balancing supply and demand dynamics, and adapting to evolving market conditions and mainly limited evacuation capacity on the transmission network specifically for export purposes.
“The ECB will delve deeper into these issues in its next round of engagement, so that prospective investors, market participants and public in general are informed about these developments,” Kahimise said.
