As of January 1, 2003, SADC's total installed electric generating capacity was 52.3 gigawatts (GW) (see Table 6 ). South Africa generates the majority of the region’s electricity, with 215.9 Billion kilowatthours (Bkwh), followed by Mozambique (15.1 Bkwh), Zimbabwe (8.9 Bkwh), and Zambia (8.4 Bkwh). In 2003, total regional electricity consumption was 244.4 Bkwh, led by South Africa (197.4 Bkwh), Zimbabwe (11.6 Bkwh), Mozambique (10.5 Bkwh) and Zambia (5.8 Bkwh).

Created in 1995, the Southern African P o wer Pool (SAPP) aims to provide reliable and economical electricity to consumers of each member-country. A total of 12 member-countries belong to SAPP and they are represented by their respective electric power companies. The electric power companies have equal rights and obligations, and they have agreed to act in solidarity as they work to provide electricity throughout SADC. The coordination center for SAPP is located in Harare, Zimbabwe.

In November 2003, BPC, Eskom, ENE, NamPower and SNEL formed the Western Corridor Power Project (Westcor) in order to provide electricity to promote the economic development of the region. The first phase of the project includes the construction of the 3,500-MW Inga III hydropower station in DRC, with interconnections for about 1,864 miles of power transmission lines to supply the five Westcor countries: DRC, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. In August 2004, the DRC indicated that, as the host country, it would like more than the 20 percent stake allotted to it, stalling the project. As of January 2006, the participating governments and utilities had signed agreements to co-develop the project, and each utility committed $100,000 for funding feasibility studies. The utility companies also signed a shareholders agreement, in which, each utility agreed to own 20 percent of Westcor. The Western Power Project may eventually include the construction of hydropower stations in Angola and Namibia.

South Africa’s parastatal company Eskom is one of the largest electric utilities in the world and generates 95 percent of the country’s electricity. Eskom has 36,200 megawatts (MW) of net generating capacity, which is primarily coal-fired (32,100 MW). In addition, Eskom operates one nuclear power station at Koeberg (1,800 MW), two natural gas turbine facilities (340 MW), six conventional hydroelectric plants (600 MW), and two hydroelectric pumped-storage stations (1,400 MW). Eskom produces adequate electricity for domestic use and exports surplus power to Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Given the prospect of reaching its peak capacity in 2007, Eskom announced in June 2004 a plan to bring its three mothballed power stations (3,800 MW) back into service by 2011. Additional electricity is generated by South African municipalities (2,400 MW) and private companies (800 MW).

Mozambique's Cahora Bassa hydroelectric facility is located on the Zambezi River in the western province of Tete. The power station, with a nominal capacity estimated at 2,075 MW, currently supplies electricity domestically, as well as to Zimbabwe and South Africa. Cahora Bassa is operated by Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), a joint-venture between Portugal (82 percent) and EDM (18 percent). However, in March 2006, the government of Mozambique reached an agreement with Portugal in which majority ownership of Cahora Bassa will be transferred to Mozambique. Currently, Mozambique is seeking funds to modernize the Cahora Bassa facility at an expected cost of $40 million. In addition, the government is seeking investors for a new 2,400-MW hydroelectric facility on the Zambezi River, about 43 miles south of the Cahora Bassa Dam. Once construction is underway, it could take up to eight years for generation to begin.

While Zimbabwe imports about 40 percent of its electricity requirements, the country's power supply has grown increasingly irregular over the past year. As of May 2006, Zimbabwe had an electricity deficit of roughly 250 MW per day. The lack of electricity is due to underperformance of the Kariba and Hwange hydroelectric power stations. In response, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has been forced to introduce load shedding and occasional power cuts, while increasing electricity imports from South Africa, Mozambique and DRC. ZESA has asked the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) for $900 million in funding to refurbish and expand Kariba and Hwange. In October 2005, a $200 million refurbishment project for Kariba South failed due to lack of funding.

Zambia has abundant hydroelectric resources and meets most of its domestic energy needs from its own hydroelectric stations, which are operated by the state-owned Zambia Electricity Supply Company (Zesco). Zambia exports electricity to its neighbors, especially Tanzania and Kenya. In May 2006, Zesco announced that it had completed rehabilitation work on Zambia’s power transmission and distribution systems; however, rehabilitation of the country’s hydroelectric power stations is not expected to be completed until 2007. Zambia is currently seeking funding for building three new power projects, which include the Kafue Gorge Lower Project, Kariba North Bank Extension, and the Itezhi-tezhi Hydropower Project.

DRC has extensive potential hydroelectric capacity of approximately 100,000 MW. Due to continuing political uncertainties and the resulting lack of investor interest, only a fraction of this amount has been developed. In 2003, the DRC had total installed generating capacity of 2,568 MW. However, actual production is estimated at no more than 600-700 MW because two-thirds of the turbines are not functioning. In May 2006, MagEnergy (Canada) began overseeing the refurbishment and rehabilitation work on Inga Dam, which is operating at 40 percent. The repairs should allow Inga to work at full capacity (1,774 MW) by 2010. DRC exports hydroelectricity to its neighbor, Republic of Congo along a 220-kilovolt (KV) connection. The interconnection supplies nearly one third of the electricity consumed in Congo-Brazzaville. Power from Inga is also transmitted to the Zambian grid along a 500-KV DC line from Inga to Kolwezi in southern DRC, and a 220-KV line from Kolwezi to Kitwe in northern Zambia. South Africa also imports DRC's energy output through the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) grid.

Malawi's Shire River supports four hydroelectric plants, which account for the majority of the country's electrical output. A 31-mile transmission line from Mozambique's Cahora Bassa Dam is under construction and is expected to be completed by 2008. Additional work continues on the Kapichira hydroelectric power scheme that is designed to add 128 MW to the country's capacity.

In August 2003, the Swaziland Electricity Board (SEB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a $9.3 million loan agreement for the construction of a hydroelectric power station at the Maguga Dam on the Komati River. In November 2004, Alston Power and Consolidated Power Ltd. signed contracts with the SEB to supply and install turbines and generators, as well as to construct and commission substations for the Maguga power project. In early 2006, the hydroelectric station at Maguga Dam came online; however, maximum output is only 19 MW. Even with the new power station at Maguga, Swaziland still imports about 80 percent of the country's electricity from South Africa, and additional amounts from Mozambique.

Botswana plans to provide electricity to 70 percent of its population by March 2009 and to the remaining 30 percent by 2016. Currently, only 22 percent of Botswana's population has access to electricity. The generating capacity of the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is centered at the 132-MW Morupule power station. Through government funding, BPC is engaged in a major program to extend the electricity grid into rural areas. In early 2004, BPC completed the largest electricity extension phase to date.

About 50 percent of Namibia's electricity is generated domestically, mainly from the 240-MW Ruacana hydropower plant. The production level is cyclical, so imports from South Africa are needed to cover the periodic gaps in production. The Ruacana plant recently has experienced severe malfunctioning, increasing the need for imported power. With the current import agreements between Namibia and South Africa scheduled to expire in 2006 and South Africa's declining excess capacity, Namibia has begun to prepare itself for the reduced power supply. The Namibian government is actively seeking new energy sources, including a proposed 800-MW natural gas-fired power plant (supplied by the Kudu field), a wind powered plant at Luderitz and potential hydroelectric supplies from the Kunene River on the Angolan border. In 2005, the Namibian government reactivated old power stations in Walvis Bay and Windhoek as an interim measure, but power rationing may soon become necessary.

In May 2004, Namibia's Nam Power commissioned a pre-feasibility study on a 20-MW hydroelectric plant at Popa Falls on the Okavango River. Officials rejected an earlier plan due to concerns over possible damage to the Okavango Delta, located downstream from the falls in neighboring Botswana. Nam Power continues to back the project, which would provide a much needed power source, but the project remains in limbo. Namibia already imports electricity from Zambia via a 66-KV line, but the countries have plans to construct a higher voltage power line between Katima Mulillo and Victoria Falls at some point in the future. The line could be connected to Namibia’s national grid.

After a drought in 2004, all of Tanzania's hydroelectric plants were operating at half capacity, which led to the implementation of a World Bank-funded Emergency Power Plan. In July 2004, Houston-based Globeleq brought online the 110-MW gas-powered Songas plant in Ubungo, which the company expanded to 180 MW in June 2005. The Songas plant supplies approximately 35 percent of Tanzania’s energy requirements. Tanzania, Zambia and Kenya are also pursuing a $230 million project to connect their grids. Rwanda and Uganda have expressed interest in joining the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya interconnection.

In 2001, the Compagnie Thermique de Belle Vue (CTBV), a joint-venture composed of Harel Frères of Mauritius, France's Cidec, the Sugar Investment Trust of Mauritius and the State Investment Fund, built a 70-MW facility north of the Mauritian capital of Port Louis. The CTBV plant utilizes bagasse (biomass refuse from the processing of sugar cane) as its primary fuel. Swaziland has expressed interest in a bagasse power plant; however, the project has been stalled for seven years. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is currently financing a feasibility study of a planned bagasse power plant in Tanzania.

Solar energy is viewed as a prime tool for SADC's rural (off-grid) electrification programs, which have been slowed by the high costs of grid extension services. Zambia's government has encouraged investment by eliminating all import duties on solar panels and waiving the otherwise obligatory annual license fees for solar energy projects. In November 2004, the Gobabeb Training and Research Center inaugurated the Gobabeb hybrid mini-grid installation in the Namib Desert.