(Bloomberg) -- Electricity supplies to Mozambique’s southern regions, including the capital Maputo, have been cut by about a third as the output of two key power plants was disrupted by ongoing protests against disputed Oct. 9 elections.
The affected plants, Ressano Garcia and Gigawatt, use natural gas supplied by Johannesburg-based Sasol Ltd. to generate electricity which is then also exported to neighboring countries.
A group of protesters assembled at the two plants, forcing authorities to shut them down and reducing electricity output by 250 megawatts for an indefinite period, state-owned power utility Electricidade de Moçambique said in a statement on Saturday.
In neighboring Zambia, 300 megawatts of power imports from Mozambique have been halted after state-owned utility Zesco Ltd. received notification of an “indefinite unavailability of power exports” related to the shutdowns.
A severe drought has sapped Zambia’s hydro power generation, which supplies the bulk of its electricity. That’s left Africa’s second-largest copper producer to rely on Mozambique to cushion its supply gap. Emergency load management has been implemented, further reducing supplies to residential customers, Zesco said in a statement on Sunday.
The demonstrations, called by opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, have turned deadly, with at least 90 fatalities reported — most of them demonstrators shot during clashes with police. Hundreds have been injured and thousands arrested.
Protesters have also targeted other infrastructure, damaging courts, police stations and ruling party offices.
--With assistance from Matthew Hill and Taonga Mitimingi.
(Updates with impactd on Zambia from fourth paragraph)
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