NamPower should be dismantled – Swartbooi

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) yesterday demanded that NamPower, the national power utility, be dismantled for “failing” to ensure the country’s energy security.

LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi said NamPower has failed to build power stations in the past 33 years.

” . . . and is basically a retailer buying and selling electricity. A strong department of energy can do that as well,” he said during a press briefing in Windhoek.

“Once we have built sufficient hydroelectric power stations and sold enriched uranium for electricity generation, we will not need a monopolistic neocolonial monster called NamPower.”

This, he said, has exposed Namibians to energy insecurity and expensive electricity imports, mostly from South Africa’s power utility, Eskom.

“NamPower has not prepared the country. Our electricity purchase from South Africa sees this country’s taxpayers paying 25% more than South African consumers,” he said.

He warned that if electricity imports from South Africa, Zambia, and other African countries through the Southern Africa Power Pool are disrupted, Namibia could be thrown into total darkness.

Swartbooi said “in the instance of Eskom, you may have a political fallout in which a political decision may be taken to ensure that electricity does not go out of South Africa”.

“Where will we be in such a situation?” he asked.

The LPM leader said the NamPower leadership is happy to pay Eskom for electricity.

“They never thought the day would come that Eskom would be in a crisis despite being in such an important position to ensure this country does not go dark,” he said.

Swartbooi said Namibia has failed to capitalise on its natural resources, including its abundance of solar energy.

“Namibia is the third-largest uranium-producing country in the entire world, yet has no real plans or discussions of using this as a means to venture into nuclear energy,” he said, adding that South Africa could assist Namibia in producing peaceful nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy represents 5% of total energy production in South Africa, or 12 355 gigatonnes – three times the amount Namibia requires annually.

NamPower managing director Simson Haulofu yesterday declined to comment on the LPM’s calls to dismantle the power utility.

However, he recently told parliamentarians during a workshop at Swakopmund that Namibia has bilateral agreements safeguarding the country’s energy security.

Haulofu did, however, admit that the government needed to invest “in our own plants, especially renewable energy”.

He said current energy capacity is insufficient to fulfil the rising electricity demand.

The Baynes hydropower project is close to financial closure, Haulofu said.

Namibia and Angola are currently collaborating on the construction of a hydroelectric project with an installed capacity along the Kunene River.