The concession fee that Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) pays to the Mozambican State will rise, coming to represent 70% of the total. This measure stems from a recent resolution of the Mozambican Government, set out in a decree to which we have had access.
Decree 41/2023, which is already in force, was approved at the Council of Ministers meeting on 7 July. The government decision rests on the need to reassess the revenue earmarking scheme, as defined in the now-repealed 2009 law, relating to HCB's concession fee. The review follows the transfer of responsibility for it to the Mozambican State, with the aim of increasing Public Treasury revenue and updating the beneficiary entities.
The amount of HCB's concession fee, which is paid monthly, will thus be distributed as follows: 70% to the Mozambican State Budget, 24% to the Energy Fund (Funae), 2% to the Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE), limited to the value of its operating budget, 2% to development agencies and the remaining 2% to the regional water administrations.
Under the previous legislation, dated March 2009, the concession fee transferred by HCB to the State Budget was 60%, with 35% to Funae, 2.5% to the Zambezi Development Plan Office and 2.5% to the National Electricity Council.
It should be noted that HCB, majority-owned by the Mozambican State, is cited as the financially healthiest Mozambican public company. According to an analysis carried out by the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation, in October 2022, HCB is the only public-sector company classified in 'category 1', which means a very low risk of default on its obligations.
In financial terms, the 2022 reports indicate that HCB transferred to the State around 239 million meticais (equivalent to 3.4 million euros) in concession fees.
