December 15 - The Director of Sustainable Development Division at ECA, Dr. Josue Dione, said today that about 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will have no access to electricity by 2030.

In an opening address to a two-day stakeholders policy dialogue forum which opened in Addis Ababa, Dr. Dione said while 94 per cent had access to electricity in North Africa in 2002, only 24 per cent of people in sub Saharan Africa had such access.

By 2030, he said, electrification rates would approach 100 per cent in the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia and Latin America while half the population of sub Saharan Africa would still be without electricity.

To reverse these trends, he called for the implementation of well-designed reforms that should target improved access to electricity and other modern energy services essential for fueling sustainable development and achieving the MDGs.<\p>

The Forum will consider a study co-sponsored by ECA and UNEP and supported by UNDESA, into the experiences in the implementation of reforms in 14 selected sub-Saharan African countries, most of which are participating in the meeting.

Dr. Dione recalled that most African countries had embarked on power sector reforms following a 1993 World Bank policy which called for the establishment of transparent regulatory processes, commercialized power enterprises, importation of power services and private investment in the power sector.