South Africa — Transmission Grids

"Created in 1995, the South African Power Pool (SAPP) aims to link SADC member states into a single electricity grid. The national utilities currently participating in the SAPP are Angola's Empresa Nacional de Electricidade (ENE), the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), the Democratic Republic of Congo's SNEL, the Lesotho Electricity Corporation (LEC), Malawi's Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom), Mozambique's EDM, Namibia's Nampower, South Africa's Eskom, the Swaziland Electricity Board (SEB), Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), Zambia's ZESCO, and Zimbabwe's ZESA."

"A significant SAPP accomplishment was the completion of the Matimba-Insukamini interconnector linking Eskom and ZESA in October 1995. This interconnection initiated the first linkage of system operations between the northern and southern systems in the southern African region. The northern system is primarily composed of ZESA, ZESCO and SNEL, and the southern system is primarily Eskom, BPC and Nampower. The effect of the interconnections is that countries are able to source electricity in bulk and then redistribute it nationally at cheaper prices. Plans to connect the power grids of Angola, Malawi, and Tanzania with other SAPP member grids are in varying stages of development."

"Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), Mozambique's state utility, and Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), a joint-venture between Portugal and EDM, have restored the electricity interconnection from the Cahora Bassa dam with South Africa, by replacing over 2,000 pylons that were damaged during Mozambique's civil war."

"The Inga hydroelectric facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo supplies power to the Congo power grid along a 220-KV connection. The interconnection supplies nearly one-third of the electricity consumed in Congo. Power from Inga is also transmitted to the Zambian grid along a 500-KV DC line from Inga to Kolwezi in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, and a 220-KV line from Kolwezi to Kitwe in northern Zambia. The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to further expand the Inga hydroelectric facility located on the Congo River. The 2,000-MW Inga II plant and the 40,000-MW Grand Inga facility are intended primarily for power exports to Southern Africa."

"Other interconnections are currently underway or planned. The $500-million Angola-Namibia Kunene River hydroelectric project will consist of a 200 MW-380 MW generating facility that supplies power to Angola, Namibia, and South Africa."

"The Mozambique-South Africa-Swaziland Motraco transmission project involves two 400-KV transmission lines built to supply a new aluminum smelter, MOZAL, in Maputo, Mozambique. One line will run from Eskom's Arnot power station to Maputo. The other will run from Eskom's Camden power station via Swaziland to Maputo."

"South Africa's Eskom and Namibia's Nampower are constructing a 400-kilovolt (KV) transmission between the Aries substation in South Africa and the Namibian capital of Windhoek."

"In November 1999, Namibia and Zambia signed an agreement for the construction of the 120-mile (190-kilometer) line from Victoria Falls in southern Zambia to Katima Mulilo on the northern Namibia border."

Feb 2000
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/sadc.html