BOTSWANA: Tlou Energy Awarded 10MW Generation License

Transmission Line

Tlou is pleased to announce that work is set to commence on the transmission line and substations to connect the Lesedi power project to the electricity grid.

As announced late last year, funding has been secured for the construction of the transmission line and substations from our largest shareholder (Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund) and since that time the relevant contractors have been updating their tenders to reflect any cost adjustments since their original submissions. This process is largely complete and following final signatures the work is set to commence.

Project Construction

The Lesedi project is located approximately 100Km from the existing electricity grid. The development will include the erection of wooden poles fitted with an overhead 66kV transmission line. In addition, substations will be installed at Lesedi and close to Serowe. The Lesedi substation will integrate the generation assets with the transmission line and the Serowe substation will tie in with Botswana Power Corporation’s existing infrastructure.

The transmission line route has been surveyed and full environmental approval is in place. The line will predominantly cross flat, arid terrain with the last ~5 Km being through the outskirts of the Serowe township.

As previously announced, experienced contractors are being used for the project with construction of the overhead lines by Zismo Engineering (Pty) Ltd and by OptiPower for the construction of substations.

• Zismo is a Botswana based Electrical Engineering, Contracting, Automation and Refurbishment Company. Further information is available at http://zismoengineering.com.
• OptiPower is a division of Murray & Roberts Ltd. Based in South Africa, OptiPower’s core business includes the construction of substations, power lines and fibre optic networks. See https://optipower.co.za for further details.

10MW Generation Licence

The Company recently received a 10MW Electricity Generation License from the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA).

The licence has a term of 15 years and is for the generation of 10MW of power at the Lesedi project for sale to Botswana Power Corporation (BPC).

Project Timetable

A series of key milestones have been achieved in the past year allowing the Company to progress into the development phase and towards first revenue. A tentative timetable towards this target is set out below. This is not an exhaustive list and is subject to change and funding.

Lesedi Gas production

The Lesedi gas production wells continue to steadily perform. The Lesedi 3P (“L3”) production pod was shut-in for approximately 18 months during the pandemic and was recently brought back into production following the resumption of full operations. Since resumption, L3 has already recommenced flowing gas which is a very positive indicator and the Lesedi 4P (“L4”) production pod also continues to flow sustained gas. Cumulative flow rates are encouraging and we look forward to providing substantive numbers to the market as soon as practicable.