Lubango – The coming into operation as of June this year of the first of the three turbines with 13.5 megawatts of Matala hydroelectric power station will boost the electricity supply and reduce the electrical outage in the southern Huíla province.
The southern Huila-based public electricity network has as the main sources the use of
Matala dam, with a capacity for 39 megawatts.
Another part comes from the Arimba and Canguinda thermal plants, each with 40 mw.
In 2021, the Angolan government spent USD35 million on acquisition and assembly of two more gas turbines, each with a capacity for 25 mw, installed at the Arimba plant.
The turbine broke down in December 2019 and the other two were out of service in 2020 due to civil engineering works in the physical structure of the Cunene River.
The construction works of Matala dam started in 1954 on the course of the Cunene River. After its inauguration, it was renamed Salazar dam.
