Cachiungo - The Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, on Saturday reaffirmed the Angolan government's objective of transforming the energy matrix from thermal to clean sources by 2027.
The minister made the statement after inaugurating the line that will connect the municipalities of Cachiungo, in Huambo province, and Chinguar, in Bié, to the national grid, as part of the country's Energy Transition Project.
João Baptista Borges said that the energy produced by diesel generators represented almost 60 percent of all the energy produced in the country, and that the country is changing this picture and already has 66 percent renewable energy, more hydroelectric and some solar, with the goal of reaching 73 percent by the end of 2027.
The Minister emphasized that the action is important from an environmental point of view and to reduce costs, since the production of thermal energy is very expensive due to the cost of fuel, exhaustion of machinery and environmental damage.
For the Minister, the electrification of the country means producing energy that is abundant, cheap and sustainable from an environmental and economic point of view, a path that the Angolan government is taking.
João Baptista Borges quoted the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who said two years ago at the Climate Summit in Scotland that Angola's goal is to achieve at least 72 percent contribution of clean energy in the greener energy matrix.
The minister added that important projects are underway to achieve this goal, such as the construction of the Caculo Cabaça dam in Cuanza-Norte province, which will be fundamental to this objective, as well as other investments in solar parks.
One of the objectives of the program, according to the minister, is to ensure that 50 percent of Angolans have access to electricity, specifically over 16 million people by 2027, a financial effort to expand the network that will provide close to 250,000 connections per year.
In addition to investment, the Minister added, it will be necessary to take care of maintenance and operation. To this end, it is important to train technical staff and strengthen the business structure of the ministerial sector responsible for energy production and supply, as well as the revenues paid by consumers.
To connect Cachiungo and Chinguar to the national grid, a 220/30 kilovolt substation with an installed capacity of 20 megavolt amperes was built and 30 kilometers of medium-voltage distribution cable were laid.
In addition, at least 15 stations ranging from 160 to 30/0.4 kilovolt-ampere were installed, 29 kilometers of low-voltage distribution cable were laid, and 600 new street lights and 1,600 new household connections were installed.
The initiative will save the Angolan state nearly 380 million kwanzas per year, of which 270 million will be spent on the purchase of 1.5 million liters of fossil fuel and 110 million on administrative costs.ZZN/ALH/TED/AMP
