Last year, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) accumulated more than US$23.8 million in losses caused by the cyclones that affected the country.
According to data from the final accounting made by EDM, the extensive damage in 2022 resulted in the fall of medium and low voltage power poles, causing the unavailability of energy in the system that affected around 300,000 customers.
“Adding the damage to infrastructure to the reduction in charges, EDM recorded a loss directly associated with the impacts of cyclones in 2022 of 23,852,265 dollars”, highlights the company.
The effects, first, of Storm Ana, which hit the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia, Tete, Niassa, Sofala and Manica in January last year, affecting around 120,000 people and causing 10,814 people to be displaced. The storm, in addition to the effects on the electricity grid, destroyed 23,400 homes, eight bridges, 13 health units and 543 classrooms in 249 schools.
Tropical cyclone Gombe followed in March, which hit the provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Sofala, with gusts of wind that reached 230 kilometers per hour, affecting 736,015 people and causing 7,086 people to be displaced, in addition to 78,635 homes, eight bridges destroyed , among other serious impacts.
Data from EDM indicate that, at the end of last year, the company operated a medium voltage distribution network of 22,992 kilometers and a transmission network of 6,355 kilometers with 15,906 towers.
