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New substation prepares Windhoek for anticipated load shedding

New substation prepares Windhoek for anticipated load shedding

The City of Windhoek signed a loan agreement with the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) this week worth N$155 million to construct an electricity intake substation to avert an anticipated load shedding by 2024.

The proposed site of the substation is north of Otjomuise Extension 10 and will be developed by the City of Windhoek and Nampower. Nampower will assume the responsibility of constructing and maintaining the substation, while the City of Windhoek will earn revenue through electricity tariffs from the increased capacity. Part of this revenue will be used to repay the loan to DBN.

According to NamPower, the construction of the Khomas Substation will take between 42 to 48 months to complete.

Chairperson of the City’s Management Committee, Illse Keister said Windhoek’s energy demand has grown significantly due to new residential, commercial, and industrial developments and the proposed Khomas intake substation will ensure additional capacity to support the forecasted demand.

The entire substation is valued at N$336 million, of which N$228 million is being contributed by the City of Windhoek.

The City has already paid N$72 million from its own resources and the balance will be covered by a DBN long-term loan of N$135 million and a short-term loan of N$20 million to cover VAT.

Currently, the City of Windhoek gets most of its power from Van Eck Substation, but it can no longer be upgraded to accommodate the anticipated demand as it has reached its physical design capacity.


 

About The Author

Donald Matthys

Donald Matthys has been part of the media fraternity since 2015. He has been working at the Namibia Economist for the past three years mainly covering business, tourism and agriculture. Donald occasionally refers to himself as a theatre maker and has staged two theatre plays so far. Follow him on twitter at @zuleitmatthys