Maputo, March 9, 2026 (Lusa) - Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) has incurred losses of €2 million during the current rainy season and needs €8.1 million to remedy the situation, the president of the state-owned electricity company said in an interview with Lusa.
"Since the beginning of the rainy season, losses have amounted to around 155 million meticais (€2 million), of which 140 million meticais (€1.8 million) were caused by flooding in the south, mainly in Gaza province," said Joaquim Ou-chim.
He added that the rains that began in October mainly affected EDM's infrastructure in Maputo province, specifically in Boane, Moamba, Macaneta, Chinavane and Magude. In Gaza province, the Mozambican electricity company suffered further damage in the cities of Chókwè and Xai-Xai and in the districts of Chókwè, Mabalane, Guijá, Chibuto and Lionde.
EDM also saw its infrastructure destroyed by Cyclone Gezani in the province of Inhambane, southern Mozambique, specifically in the cities of Inhambane and Maxixe, and in the districts of Massinga and Morrumbene, with an estimated loss of 15 million meticais (€202,741).
Joaquim Ou-chim said that the state-owned electricity company needs 604 million meticais (€8.1 million) for the definitive replacement of infrastructure affected by the floods in this rainy season, which has already caused 263 deaths and affected 869,000 people, and which will continue until April.
EDM plans to restore the infrastructure damaged by the floods by the end of March, including in areas affected by Cyclone Gezani.
In response to complaints of constant power cuts due to the damage caused by the rains, EDM told Lusa that it has been acting "promptly", mobilising teams to restore electricity whenever safety conditions allow.
"At the same time, campaigns have been carried out to update communities on the affected areas and the progress of the restoration work, as well as awareness-raising actions on safety measures in view of the damaged infrastructure," said Joaquim Ou-chim.
"EDM has also prioritised the restoration of power to essential services, such as water pumping systems, hospitals and reception centres. In places where immediate restoration is not possible, generators and prepaid meters have been installed to ensure power supply," added the administrator.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change worldwide, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
The chairman of EDM's board of directors explained that he wants to minimise the annual impact of these events on the power grid and is moving forward with the acquisition and pre-positioning of strategic materials in remote and historically vulnerable areas and a review of distribution network construction standards, with increased use of concrete and metal poles. Currently, a minimum ratio of 30% concrete poles and 70% wooden poles is being adopted.
He said that the company will also invest in increasing the diameter of the bases of wooden poles from 20-24 centimetres (cm) to 24-28 cm, making the infrastructure more robust; gradually upgrading networks in low-lying and flood-prone areas; investing in concrete poles; and building substations with concrete slab roofs.
The company also intends to invest, said Joaquim Ou-chim, in "the construction of transformer stations with masonry bases, reducing the risk of structures falling, and in the creation of the Natural Disaster Resilience and Response Fund, financed by the Kingdom of Norway, which allows for faster and more effective action, ensuring that financial resources are dedicated to adapting electrical infrastructure to higher standards and making it more resilient to climate change."
PME/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
