Experts to Promote Cross-border Energy Exchange for Sustainable Development in Africa

ECA Press Release No. 16/2008

Addis Ababa - 8/9/08 - ECA - The Forum on “interconnections and electricity access for sustainable development in Africa” which was organized last week in Addis Ababa, by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), adopted a set of recommendations on how to expand electricity transmission lines and gas pipelines between African countries. Around 30 policy makers and energy experts representing national power utilities, sub-regional power pools, River Basin Organizations (RBOs), Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and e8 ( a group of ten leading electric companies from G8 countries ) were in attendance.

In the outcome document, participants to the Forum recommended that a capacity building programme be set up for energy experts from national power utilities, power pools, RBOs and RECs. This recommendation is in response to the lack of adequate skills for developing bankable power projects and for producing a Project Definition Document, which was identified as a major gap in most African countries. Formulating a risk management strategy and defining financial and operational structures of regional electricity grid interconnection projects remain a challenge in many sub-regions.

The Forum noted that, for governments and utilities to commit strong support to regional power projects, including electricity grid interconnections, a mutual trust and confidence building campaign was of utmost importance as many countries may prefer to be self-reliant and develop domestic resources for security reasons.

The Forum also stressed the need for additional training in the area of legal and institutional frameworks but also highlighted the importance of improved donor coordination for a better financing of energy projects in general, and regional electricity grid interconnections in particular.

Last but not least, participants called for an enhanced coordination between RECs, power pools and RBOs in planning of hydropower projects and associated interconnections in order to ensure more coherence in project identification and implementation, thereby overcoming the weaknesses of individual institutions in terms of skills and capacities to design and develop regional power projects.

This Forum is part of a joint project devised by the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs to help build capacity of the less advanced power pools in creating viable energy markets at the regional level, especially in Central and East Africa.

Background:

Sub-Saharan Africa is in critical situation as far as electricity access and power system developments are concerned. Only one quarter of the population has access to electricity and more than 90% of the population living in rural are still to be electrified. According to projections by the International Energy Agency, half the population of Sub-Saharan Africa will still be without electricity by 2030 whereas electrification rates will approach 1000% in Middle East, North Africa, East Asia and Latin America by the same deadline.

Although Africa is well endowed with both renewable and non-renewable energy sources, including a fairly high hydropower potential, interconnections of electricity grids are widely recognized as the most cost-effective means for ensuring security of supply and energy access on the continent.

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