Cape Verde power cuts linked to underinvestment at ELECTRA
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on A Nação
ELECTRA, Cape Verde’s state-owned electricity company, attributes the outages to a lack of structural investment since 2015 and failures affecting three generating units at Palmarejo in Praia. Its new board also reports a significant financial imbalance and promises to gradually restore operational capacity, according to A Nação.
Power cuts in Cape Verde are notably linked to a lack of sufficient structural investment since 2015 and failures affecting three generating units at the Palmarejo power plant in Praia, according to the new board of ELECTRA companies. The company says the unavailable equipment significantly reduces generating capacity during periods of high consumption.
Of the 70,800 kW of thermal capacity installed at Palmarejo, around 45,500 kW is currently available, or 64.3%, according to ELECTRA. Santiago’s peak-hour needs reach around 43,500 kW, while the board says it intends to gradually restore the network’s operational capacity.
ELECTRA says all the thermal capacity currently installed at Palmarejo was commissioned by 2015. The board also cites a significant financial imbalance, as well as deteriorating working conditions and demotivation among some staff.
