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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed are set to meet in Russia to discuss a dispute over a hydropower dam that Ethiopia is building on the River Nile, which has caused a long-running diplomatic standoff. Ethiopia aims to provide electricity to homes of its 105 million citizens and Egypt wants a steady supply of water for its 98 million citizens. Global Chairman at Fairfax Africa Fund (US), Zemedeneh Negatu joins CNBC Africa for more.

Egypt, Ethiopia to hold talks over Nile dam hydropower dispute

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe has increased the average electricity tariff by 320% to let the state power utility ramp up production and improve supplies at a time of daily rolling power cuts, the national energy regulator said on Wednesday.



Power cuts lasting up to 18 hours have hit mines, industry and homes and, together with a devastating drought, have been cited by the treasury as among the main reasons why the economy is set to contract by up to 6% this year. 



However, the jump in power costs will further anger Zimbabwean citizens who have in the last week seen sharp rises in fuel and basic goods prices. Salaries have not kept pace, prompting citizens to blame President Emmerson Mnangagwa&#8217;s policies for the worst economic crisis in a decade.



The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) said it had approved an application by Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to raise the tariff to 162.16 cents (10.61 U.S. cents) from 38.61 cents.



This was the second increase in three months, following one in August.



ZERA said the tariff hike was necessary after inflation soared &#8211; the IMF says it was about 300% in August &#8211; and due to a plummeting Zimbabwe dollar currency, which was re-introduced in June.



The new tariff would allow ZETDC to raise money to repair its generators, as well as pay for imports from South Africa&#8217;s Eskom and Mozambique which cost U.S. $19.5 million every month, the regulator said.



Hopes that Zimbabwe&#8217;s economy would quickly rebound under Mnangagwa, who took over after the late Robert Mugabe was deposed in a coup in November 2017, have faded fast as ordinary people grapple with soaring inflation which has eroded earnings and savings.



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Here’s why Zimbabwe has quadrupled its electricity prices

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe will ramp up its electricity imports over the next few weeks, potentially easing rolling power cuts, after it agreed to make payments to clear its debt to a regional power utility, a treasury official said on Monday. 



The southern African nation has endured 18-hour daily power cuts since May as a result of a prolonged drought that has reduced output at its largest hydro plant and ageing coal-fired generators that keep breaking down.



Foreign power companies also stopped supplying Zimbabwe with electricity in 2017 after the country failed to pay its bills, although Zimbabwe resumed limited imports of 300 MW a month last week.



George Guvamatanga, secretary for the ministry of finance, told business leaders in Harare that Zimbabwe had agreed to make weekly payments to clear its debt to a regional power utility, which would start providing at least 400 MW of electricity a month, starting from this week.



That would take total imports to 700 MW a month.



Guvamatanga did not name the supplier. Zimbabwe typically buys electricity from South Africa’s Eskom and Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique.



Zimbabwe owes more than $70 million to Eskom and Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique for past power supplies.



“I think the arrangement that we have put in place now on electricity should hopefully guarantee us increased supply from tomorrow or Wednesday,” Guvamatanga said.



“Working with the mining sector we have been able to ring-fence adequate resources to pay for at least 400 megawatts of electricity a month.”



Power shortages, along with drought and a severe dollar crunch, will result in the economy shrinking this year, the finance minister said last week.



Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi was in South Africa at the end of July to try negotiate for a power deal with Eskom. He did not immediately respond to calls and messages on his mobile phone on Monday.



Eskom, which is itself struggling to meet South Africa’s electricity needs, had no immediate comment.



The government said last week that power utility ZESA Holdings was accessing 300 MW during off-peak hours from the Southern African Power Pool, a regional industry collaboration linking up national grids.



Guvamatanga said for now Zimbabwe would have to rely on electricity imports, which required foreign currency that is in short supply.



Last week finance minister Mthuli Ncube announced a three-fold increase in electricity tariffs, as the government seeks to raise more funds for power generation.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Susan Fenton

Zimbabwe ramps up its electricity imports to ease outages

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Recent troubles at South Africa&#8217;s electricity public utility Eskom have led to a revised outlook on the economy by Fitch ratings. For a discussion on the bank&#8217;s reaction to the latest downgrade and if the country&#8217;s monetary policy was ready for it, CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera caught up with South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor, Lesetja Kganyago for more.

How does Eskom downgrade affect monetary policy? A revised look at economic stability

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The group treasurer of South Africa’s Eskom, Andre Pillay, will leave the power utility at the end of August, it said on Monday, the latest high-profile exit after its chief executive quit earlier this year.



Eskom supplies more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity, but has implemented severe power cuts this year and is failing to generate sufficient profit.



It is hinging its recovery hopes on a 230 billion rand ($16 billion) bailout pledged by government in February.



Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Jan Harvey

Treasurer of South Africa’s Eskom quits, what you need to know

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni aims to table a bill in parliament on July 23 to give struggling state power firm Eskom more money for the current financial year and next, to alleviate its acute liquidity problems.



Mboweni told parliament on Thursday that Eskom presented the biggest risk to the country’s fiscal framework and stressed that there were serious risks to the economy if it collapsed.



Eskom, which supplies more than 90 percent of the country’s electricity but has implemented severe power cuts this year, fails to generate sufficient profit to meet its debt-service costs and has required state cash injections to stay afloat.



Mboweni, a key ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, added that the government would also provide financial support from its contingency reserve to ailing South African Airways, weapons manufacturer Denel and broadcaster SABC.



“This additional financial support cannot be a blank cheque to these state-owned enterprises,” Mboweni said. “We really and truly cannot go on like this.”



The minister said South Africa’s tax collection was underperforming due to a weak economic environment and the government would focus its short-term efforts on addressing rising debt and on stricter controls on expenditure.



Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Elaine Hardcastle

South Africa’s Eskom new funding bill expected July 23, what you need to know

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 Aerial view of Kariba dam.
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tafadzwa-makonese-750988">Tafadzwa Makonese</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

Zimbabwe’s government has announced its facing critical power shortfalls. The country’s anchor power producer, Kariba Dam, might <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/zimbabwe-to-approach-eskom-for-help-as-kariba-dam-levels-drop-20190603">have to stop</a> production in weeks due to dropping water levels. Tafadzwa Makonese spoke to Moina Spooner from The Conversation Africa about what can be done.

What are the main challenges facing Zimbabwe’s energy system?

Zimbabwe has a severe energy crisis because its major sources of electricity are struggling to keep up with demand. 

Kariba power plant dam – where Zimbabwe gets <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304021888_Renewable_energy_in_Zimbabwe">57% of its electricity</a> – has low water levels due to poor rains last year. At the moment the dam, which sits on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, is producing <a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/zimbabwe-darkness-eight-to-ten-hour-load-shedding/">just 34%</a> of what it usually can. If Kariba stopped producing Zimbabwe would <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/World/power-production-on-the-verge-of-shutdown-at-zims-kariba-dam-20190531">lose about 358 MW daily</a>, that’s about 300 000 homes without power. 

On top of this, Hwange colliery – which provides <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-02/hwange-of-zimbabwe-coal-output-to-surge-on-underground-mining">almost all</a> of Zimbabwe’s coal for power generation – is producing less <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/World/power-production-on-the-verge-of-shutdown-at-zims-kariba-dam-20190531">because of</a> old and deteriorating infrastructure. 

Currently Zimbabwe <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFL8N237276">produces</a> 1100 MW of power against a national demand of 1500 MW. This leaves a supply gap of 400 MW. The deficit is catered for <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/zim-looks-to-sas-eskom-to-help-stave-off-load-shedding-20190512">by imports</a> from Mozambique and South Africa. 

But payments for these imports aren’t easy to keep up with. For the past 10 years Zimbabwe has been going through a <a href="https://world-news-monitor.com/money/finance/2019/05/31/zimbabwe-strikes-imf-deal-to-boost-new-currency/">currency crisis</a> caused by hyperinflation. This has severely eroded the power of local currency, leaving the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority in a financial quagmire. They <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/zimbabwe-to-approach-eskom-for-help-as-kariba-dam-levels-drop-20190603">currently owe</a> Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, over $33million.

Because of these challenges, any drop in national production means the government has to ration electricity. The government recently started a load shedding plan <a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/zimbabwe-darkness-eight-to-ten-hour-load-shedding/">to prevent</a> the collapse of the country’s power grid.

What are the short to medium term solutions?

One short-term solution could be small solar power systems that are rolled out while the government works to improve national power generation through additional hydropower plants, solar and wind farms. 

Small solar systems are an effective source of electricity in off-grid communities or they could be set up as mini-grids in communities that constantly suffer from power-cuts. Zimbabwe <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082614000787">has enough</a> solar power to support these.

These solar systems could be made cheaper through the introduction of subsidies and tax incentives. Even better, the government could waive taxes on all certified systems coming into the country. 

And more needs to be done to publicise the use of gas in urban and rural households. Gas is underused in Zimbabwe, partly because it is more expensive compared to other energy sources including kerosene. The government could look for investments through private partnerships to build gas mines. Zimbabwe <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/zim-to-set-up-own-gas-mines/">has over 40 trillion</a> cubic feet of potentially recoverable methane gas in the Lupane-Lubimbi area. Considering the cost of building infrastructure to transport the gas from the production sites, it would be significantly cheaper to exploit these than to import from Mozambique. 

Industries that need to cope with power cuts should turn to energy storage. In Johannesburg, South Africa, some industries <a href="https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/energy-storage-a-viable-solution-to-load-shedding-2019-04-05">have integrated</a> energy storage into their micro-grids – the solar energy <a href="https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2019/02/energy-storage-microgrids/30388/">is stored</a> in batteries that are used when the grid fails. 

Are there experiences from other countries, in fixing a dilapidated electricity system, that Zimbabwe can draw lessons from?

Nepal and Bangladesh are good examples. 

In 2014 Nepal was experiencing up to 12 hours of power cuts for the residential and industrial sector. This was <a href="https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-05-14/entire-country-is-now-free-of-loadshedding.html">finally stopped</a> in 2017. Nepal invested heavily in run-of-the-river micro-hydropower plants. These are hydroelectric systems that harvest the energy from flowing water to generate electricity in the absence of a large dam and reservoir – as opposed to conventional hydroelectric power plants which rely on the power of water falling a large distance. 

It all paid off when water levels in major rivers rose and power could be generated. By 2018 the country <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/books/renewable-hydropower-technologies/hydropower-development-in-nepal-climate-change-impacts-and-implications">produced</a> 1000 MW from 782 MW in 2016.

Zimbabwe relied heavily on the Kariba Dam power station, without establishing more hydropower plants elsewhere. It <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217354486">has huge</a> small-hydro potential. 

Bangladesh meanwhile shows how energy-saving behaviour – like turning off lights in unused rooms, use of solar water geysers, and use of energy efficient home appliances – under its national energy efficiency and conservation master plan <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40095-019-0302-3">reduced demand</a> by up to 51%.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118209/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tafadzwa-makonese-750988">Tafadzwa Makonese</a>, Senior Research Fellow, Sustainable Energy Technology and Research Centre, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/quick-fix-solutions-to-zimbabwes-huge-electricity-crisis-118209">original article</a>.

What are the short-term solutions to Zimbabwe’s huge electricity crisis ?

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Starting from the first of July, Ghanaians will be paying 8.01 per cent higher for water according to the new tariffs permitted by Ghana’s Public Utility Regulatory Commission. While electricity tariffs were also raised by just over 11 per cent.

Ghana hikes water, electricity tariffs

HARARA (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s state power utility imposed the worst rolling blackouts in three years on Monday, with households and industries including mines set to be without electricity for up to eight hours daily.



The power cuts are bound to stoke mounting public anger against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government as Zimbabweans grapple with an economic crisis that has seen shortages of U.S. dollars, fuel, food and medicines as well as soaring inflation that is eroding earnings and savings.



Many Zimbabweans say life is getting harder and that Mnangagwa is failing to deliver on pre-election promises last year to rebuild an economy shattered during Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule.



The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), citing reduced output at its largest hydro plant and ageing coal-fired generators, said power cuts would start on Monday and last up to eight hours during morning and evening peak periods.



The country last experienced such serious blackouts in 2016 following a devastating drought.



Isaac Kwesu, chief executive of Chamber of Mines, which groups Zimbabwe’s biggest mining companies said critical industries like mining should be spared from the black-outs, locally known as load shedding.



“Mining requires electricity for both operations and safety. It will be very costly to have production stoppages, that is why we will be engaging ZETDC to find ways to minimize any costly disruptions due to the electricity cuts,” Kwesu told Reuters.



Mining accounted for more than two-thirds of Zimbabwe’s $4.8 billion in total export earnings last year and any power cuts in the sector will affect production and exports.



In the past, some of the big mines, including platinum and gold producers, have resorted to directly importing electricity from neighbouring countries like Mozambique and South Africa.



“The power shortfall is being managed through load shedding in order to balance the power supply available and the demand,” ZETDC said in a public notice.



Zimbabwe is also experiencing shortages of fuel, forcing motorists to queue for hours and the government has so far failed to deliver on previous promises to end the shortage.



The southern African nation, which is producing 969 MW daily against peak demand of 2,100 MW, is entering its peak winter power demand season, which will increase electricity consumption.



Energy and Power Development Minister Joram Gumbo was quoted by a local newspaper saying he would travel to Mozambique this week to try to agree an electricity supply deal with that country’s power utility Hydro Cahora Bassa.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Here’s why Zimbabwe faces worst power cuts in 3 years

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African trade unions ended a pay dispute with state power firm Eskom on Thursday, removing a major obstacle to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to guarantee uninterrupted power supplies while reforming the struggling utility.
Three unions — the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity — signed a three-year deal that will see Eskom workers receive a 7.5 percent wage increase this year and a 7 percent increase in each of the following two years.
The agreement places an added burden on Eskom’s strained finances but reduces the risk of a repeat of the power outages experienced during several days in June and July that which cast a cloud over Ramaphosa’s economic reform programme.
Cash-strapped Eskom is one of the biggest threats to South Africa’s sovereign credit ratings, which are near “junk” status. It is desperate to push ahead with a turnaround plan.
The state-owned utility supplies more than 90 percent of the country’s power, has around 270 billion rand ($18.6 billion) of state-guaranteed debt and is a major employer, with around 47,000 staff, a figure its new board wants to trim to repair the firm’s balance sheet.
When talks with trade unions began several months ago, Eskom offered no increase in salaries. But it backtracked after protesting workers forced some generating units to be switched off, leading to the first power outages since 2015.
“The 2018 Eskom wage negotiations have been the most difficult ever in the history of the NUM,” the union said in a statement.
Eskom said the conclusion of the wage talks meant it could focus on its turnaround plan.
The wage deal agreed on Thursday is around 2 percent above consumer inflation-linked increases National Treasury promised as part of a fiscal consolidation plan key to Pretoria retaining its last investment grade credit rating.
Moody’s, the last of the “big three” ratings agencies to have South Africa’s sovereign rating in investment grade, said this month that the pace of fiscal consolidation in South Africa had slowed.
Analysts expressed cautious optimism about the wage deal being reached, but said it would be a drag on Eskom’s near-term financial performance and could worry ratings agencies.
“It is definitely ratings negative, but it is not the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” energy analyst Mike Levington said. “It’s good they’ve signed the agreement, but they’ve ignored the bigger problem of Eskom’s sustainability. It’s very clear that retrenchments (layoffs) are going to be part of that.”
($1 = 14.5254 rand)
&nbsp;
&#8211; Tanisha Heiberg, Mfuneko Toyana
Editing by Alexander Winning and Edmund Blair

The wage deal between South African unions and Eskom, the country’s power utility

PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa has cancelled plans to add 9,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power by 2030 and will instead aim to add more capacity in natural gas, wind and other energy sources, the energy minister announced on Monday.
Africa’s only nuclear power has an installed capacity of 1,860 MW but plans under the government of former President Jacob Zuma to have six times that output by 2030 hit hurdles over cost and other issues.
There are now “no plans to increase nuclear until 2030,” Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said while releasing the government’s new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
The plan also showed that electricity demand on the grid has been declining.
Russian state-owned firm Rosatom was seen as a frontrunner to build the additional nuclear capacity.
Several meetings between Zuma and Russian President Vladimir Putin led to speculation that Rosatom had secured the deal before the launch of the public tender. South Africa’s government and Rosatom denied this claim.
But soon after taking over from Zuma in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa put the nuclear expansion on the back burner saying the plan was too expensive.
In July, Ramaphosa said Putin had raised the subject of a nuclear deal at a private meeting with him at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg but that he had told him that Pretoria could not sign such a deal for now.
Radebe on Monday instead outlined expansion plans targeting other energy sources.
He said the plan calls for additional capacity of 8,100 MW from wind and 8,100 MW from gas, 5,670 MW from photovoltaic panels, 2,500 MW from hydro and 1,000 MW from coal by 2030.
Public comment on the plan is invited for 60 days before final cabinet approval, he said.
Writing by James Macharia; editing by Jason Neely

Why South Africa is cancelling plans to expand its nuclear power

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s state-run power utility Eskom expects to have 7,000 less staff in five years from now, Marion Hughes a senior manager at the utility that is struggling to emerge from a financial crisis said on Thursday.
Eskom employs 47,000 people and has powerful labour unions, some allied with the ruling ANC and others more militant, that have said they will resist attempts to cut the workforce and fight moves to privatise the company.
Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia

Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, plans to cut 7,000 jobs in five years

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s struggling state-run power firm Eskom reported a 2.3 billion rand ($171 million) loss on Monday, underlining the enormity of the task facing President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has pledged to turn the company around.
Eskom, Africa’s largest public utility, was embroiled in corruption scandals under former president Jacob Zuma and narrowly avoided a liquidity crunch early this year after banks halted lending. Zuma has denied any wrongdoing.
It supplies more than 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity, and ratings agencies regularly cite its 220 billion rand of government-guaranteed debt as a threat to the country’s sovereign credit ratings.
Eskom pegged the loss for 2017/18 financial year ending March on increases in financing costs and depreciation compared with a profit of 888 million rand in the previous reporting period.
“Eskom is undoubtedly facing one of the most difficult times in its history,” Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuza said.
The utility’s executives told a news conference it had 22.7 billion rand liquidity by the end of the financial year.
Eskom reported about 20 billion rand of irregular expenditure incurred since 2012, as the firm combs its financials for evidence of wrongdoing.
Reporting by Alex Winning; Editing by James Macharia

How Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, lost $171 million

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By 2030 600 million people out of the 674 million people will be without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, a majority of them in rural areas. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss the region&#8217;s energy outlook is Hannah Daly, World Energy Outlook: Energy Demand Division Directorate of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks at International Energy Agency.

Will energy for all be achieved by or before 2030?

By AfDB Vice President for Energy , Amadou Hott
With the lowest power consumption per capita in the world, sub-Saharan Africa is arguably the darkest section of the global village with investments, social and economic growth and jobs creation hobbled by frequent outages, load shedding and total black outs. Over 645 million Africans lack access to electricity.
Yet the continent is rich in energy resources, with well over 10 terawatts of solar potential, 350 gigawatts of hydroelectric potential, 110 gigawatts of wind potential, and an additional 15 gigawatts of geothermal potential. All of these is outside Africa’s huge reserves of coal and gas, which can provide some of the continent’s cheapest electricity.
Surrounded by energy wealth, most Africans still wonder why their countries are so power poor. From the comfort of their friend’s home in the Kingdom of Lesotho, Augustine and his wife Anna, usually spend their evenings staring at the vast Katse dam, the highest dam in Africa, located on the Malibamatso River. They marvel at the evidence of what Mankind can achieve. Lesotho sells billions of litres of the “White Gold” from this dam to neighboring South Africa; the dam also pumps 72 Megawatts of electricity into the national grid.
Completed in 2009, the Katse dam’s imposing 132 KV transmission towers and lines that connect to the grid disappear into the horizon, beyond the towering Maluti mountains that have stood firm for at least 200 million years. Augustine is however moody, most of the time. Saddened by the fact that many of his compatriots still do not have access to electricity, several of their vital social and commercial needs remain unmet due to lack of electricity.
This scenario is Africa-wide. The lack of access to electricity cuts off the vital wants of society. Clearly, children underperform for lack of electricity as schools and homes lack electricity and lives are at risk at hospitals across the continent, as lifesaving equipment lie comatose, unable to be deployed for the purposes they were purchased and installed for.
For these reasons and more, Anna and Augustine are hoping that Africa’s business and political leaders will put Africa’s industrialization and energy drive at the top of their agenda during the 53rd annual meetings of the African Development Bank in the coastal city of Busan, South Korea in May 2018. Thankfully, this year’s annual meeting’s theme is “Accelerate Africa’s Industrialisation”.
Korea holds interesting memories for Augustine. The happiest moments of his life were in May 2002. That was the month his home was connected to the distribution network with a pre-payment meter and this happened just before the commencement of the 2002 FIFA World Cup jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea. The electricity meters and lines connected to Augustine’s community were courtesy of a US$36 million Utilities Sector Reform Project, financed by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Union.
Augustine worked with the project team as a driver. He witnessed the evolution of the project between 2000 and 2007, driving engineers and project managers around his mountainous country and parts of South Africa. The smiles of tens of thousands of new electricity customers are permanently etched in his memory:  from deep rural cross-border pilot electrification projects in Dili-Dili (where it was cheaper to be connected from South Africa) to the Letseng diamond mine (renowned for its large stones) and an ultra-modern ski resort in Mokhotlong (frequented by rich tourists); and to Semonkong village (which has the highest waterfall in Africa) and is supplied by a 2MW mini-hydro power plant run by the national utility company.
They recall the problems folks in Lesotho faced in 2008, when Eskom (the South African utility, that has over 40, 000 MWs installed capacity) unexpectedly restricted supplies to the Lesotho Electricity Corporation (LEC, a 100 MW customer). This led to load-shedding and increased costs.  However, LEC was able to buy power, from as far away as Mozambique, thanks to a functioning electricity market under the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Mozambique also has the Mozal aluminum smelter plant, which commenced operations in 2000 and produces over 500, 000 tonnes per year for export, and recently for the local downstream industry. Mozal is the largest industrial employer in Mozambique.
Similarly, Zambia, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo also have huge copper reserves that can be refined locally and used for electrical cables and equipment to drive the transition to green power in the SAPP and the rest of Africa.
Augustine recently heard on the news that Eskom currently has excess capacity, which it is planning to export to its neighbours.  Eskom is also the sole off-taker for over $19 billion of investments under a 2013-2018 globally acclaimed Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (REIPP) auction programme. This is driving industrialization and will accelerate South Africa’s transition to green growth.
The African Development Bank, as one of the lead financiers in South Africa, providing over $2 Billion to the power sector, is working with other development partners to replicate this success across Africa. This is underpinned by the Bank’s performance in 2017 –  when it approved 31 energy projects in 23 countries, totaling $1.4 Billion.
In the same fiscal period, the Bank’s private sector investments rose by 40% to $400 million, with 100% renewable generation projects, including base-load hydro and solar generation projects in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire, and key cross-border transmission interconnectors in the West and Central African Power Pool networks. These networks will facilitate the establishment of regional power markets, reduce carbon footprint and accelerate industrialization through the conversion of the region’s vast natural resources like the conversion of bauxite to aluminum, iron ore to steel and gas to fertilizers, and processing of rice, cocoa, fruits and vegetables.
Female entrepreneurs like Anna abound across Africa. Anna remembers how access to electricity enabled her to quit working long hours at one of the huge Taiwanese-owned textile factories in Maseru. That was when she took the bold step to become an entrepreneur. Things are looking up for Anna and her household. This winter will be nice and warm. Their home overlooking the dam now has a solar water heater and a Solar Home System. The authorities will soon replace their old pre-paid meters with smart meters and they will certainly not miss watching any of their favorite matches at this year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia.
After the World Cup, Augustine will have to go see his old friends in high places. He has also heard the rumours and needs to go confirm things for himself. He’s heard through the local grapevine that further industrialization of his community and country is in the offing. Investors are looking for local partners to co-invest and work on a plethora of projects: a 50 MW wind, 20 MW solar and a 500 &#8211; 1000 MW hydro power projects, in Mafeteng. The projects have been initiated by the Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa grant). He needs to know how communities and SMEs like him can align with the unfolding positive realities of modern industrialization.

Africa is rich in energy resources but power poor, how the AfDB is working to change this

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209061/original/file-20180306-146650-1kgus7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20180306 146650 1kgus7y.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>Millions of people without electricity access in Africa live close to existing power grid infrastructure. 
Shutterstock</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebekah-shirley-440192">Rebekah Shirley</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/strathmore-university-2081">Strathmore University</a>
At least 110 million of the 600 million people still living without access to electricity in Africa live in urban areas. Most are within a stone throw from existing power grid infrastructure.
In Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Liberia alone there are <a href="http://www.cgdev.org/blog/shedding-new-light-grid-debate-power-africa-countries">up to</a> 95 million people living in urban areas. All in close proximity to the grid. In Kenya about <a href="https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/power-africa-observations-from-kenya/">70%</a> of off-grid homes are located within 1.2km of a power line. And estimates for “under-the-grid” populations across sub-Saharan Africa range from <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/348741492463112162/pdf/114375-REVISED-4-18-PMWB-AfricasPulse-Sping2017-vol15-ENGLISH-FINAL-web.pdf">61% to 78%</a>.
Besides energy access being crucial for many basic human needs, these underserved populations represent a massive commercial opportunity for <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/how-deregulation-could-improve-reliability-for-african-utilities">cash-strapped</a> sub-Saharan African utilities. Electricity providers could reach tens of millions of densely packed customers without the cost of a last-mile rural grid extension.
So, why aren’t these potential consumers connected to the formal grid?
Urban communities often face many challenges in obtaining electricity access. These range from the prohibitively high cost of a connection, to the challenges of informal housing, the impact of power theft on services and socio-political marginalisation. In many cases, these obstacles are difficult to address successfully.
However, recent advances in distributed renewable energy technologies mean a more affordable, faster to deploy, cleaner alternative is at hand in Africa. One that can step in where policy and utility reforms are wanting.
<h2>Barriers to grid connections</h2>
One of the major barriers to electrification is the cost of a grid connection. A grid connection in Kenya, for instance, is estimated at <a href="http://dil.berkeley.edu/electrification-for-under-grid-households-in-rural-kenya-five-questions-for-ken-lee/">USD 
$ 400 per household</a>. This is nearly one-third of the average per capita <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/kenya/gdp-per-capita">income</a> of a Kenyan.
Beyond pure cost barriers, urban communities often can’t access energy services for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2512?WT.ec_id=NCLIMATE-201504&amp;spMailingID=48302515&amp;spUserID=ODkwMTM2NjQyMAS2&amp;spJobID=643211240&amp;spReportId=NjQzMjExMjQwS0">other</a> socio-economic reasons. For instance, not being metered because they <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21721141-making-slums-less-exploitative-may-be-africas-biggest-challenge-exploitation-and">don’t have</a> a formal address. Or living in in an area that is difficult to service – such as near flood plains or in informal housing settlements.
Corruption among electricity service providers, power theft by customers and the establishment of electricity cartels also complicates and limits electricity access.
Finally, the utilities themselves face many challenges in implementing reforms to get more people connected. Take the example of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, which owns and operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution system. In 2015 it introduced a subsidised connection fee of US $150. This was done through the <a href="http://www.kplc.co.ke/content/item/1120/last-mile-connectivity">Last Mile Connectivity Project</a>. In one year, this installment-based payment plan led to a <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/08/17/bringing-electricity-to-kenyas-slums-hard-lessons-lead-to-great-gains">30-fold increase</a> in legal electricity connections in impoverished neighbourhoods.
But the project was <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/smartcompany/1226-3483888-miyytdz/">marred</a> by cost overruns and inflated and misreported new connection numbers. On top of this, newly connected households often have very low consumption levels and low-income customers were often unable to make payments, even at subsidised rates.
Without the necessary infrastructural development, experts <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001233193/shocking-kenya-power-details-of-fake-meter-activations-to-please-president-uhuru">argue</a> that the program puts a strain on the technical, commercial and financial resources of the utility. This means that the programme may find it difficult to generate revenue, recover costs or provide the service intended to new customers.
<h2>Decentralised renewables</h2>
Decentralised renewable energy technologies offer an <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-senegal-needs-to-do-to-close-its-energy-gap-by-2030-88575">important solution</a> for “under-the-grid” electrification. They are simple, fast and agile. They have short installation times, and offer a reliable electricity service for informal settlements.
Pay-as-you-go solar systems and appliances, for example, <a href="http://www.wri.org/publication/stimulating-pay-you-go-energy-access-kenya-and-tanzania-role-development-finance">can provide</a> a much lower barrier to entry. Compared to the high upfront connection costs noted earlier in Kenya, a 15-watt solar home system costs <a href="http://www.wri.org/publication/stimulating-pay-you-go-energy-access-kenya-and-tanzania-role-development-finance">on average</a> USD $9 per month for 36 months after which point the household owns its system.
The renewable energy sector recognises this under-the-grid market. In fact, <a href="https://www.kenyacic.org/sites/default/files/publications/KCIC%20Solar%20Survey-3.pdf">about 35%</a> of solar lighting product sales in Kenya are made in peri-urban areas. And it’s a good bet. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2889673">Evidence</a> shows that the willingness to pay for decentralised renewables is much higher than a grid connection because they are seen as more reliable.
<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/532f79fae4b07e365baf1c64/t/58e3f73ce4fcb5a3a0989855/1491334979777/Decentralized-Renewables-From-Promise-to-Progress-March-2017.pdf">Policies to support</a> decentralised technologies include: integrated energy planning that incorporates these solutions, adopting and enforcing product quality control standards and providing financial incentives – like reduced import duties for products or local loan and grant programs.
These solutions show that with the right approach, and simple innovations, Africa’s prospective urban customers can finally get access to electricity.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92211/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Ben Attia, a Research Consultant with Greentech Media, contributed to the writing of this article
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebekah-shirley-440192">Rebekah Shirley</a>, Research Director at Power for All and Visiting Research Scholar, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/strathmore-university-2081">Strathmore University</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/millions-of-urban-africans-still-dont-have-electricity-heres-what-can-be-done-92211">original article</a>.

Millions of urban Africans still don’t have electricity: this is how to fix the problem…

Jörg Peters, University of Passau
More than 1.1 billion people in developing countries lack access to electricity. Some 590 million live in Africa, where the rural electriﬁcation rate is particularly low at only 14%.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-122480 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Electricity-Pexels.jpg" alt="" width="1536" height="1024" />
A lack of access to electricity hampers development. It affects everything from people’s ability to learn to the creation of enterprises and the provision of public services like health care. This lies behind the United Nation’s goal of countries achieving universal access to electricity by 2030.
But the investment requirements to meet this goal are enormous. According to the International Energy Agency investments worth $640 billion will be needed if the UN goal is going to be met. About $19 billion is required every year in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
In spite of the importance of electrification, little evaluation has been done on the socioeconomic impact of investments into providing power. We set about plugging this gap in our paper that focuses on Rwanda. We looked at the eﬀects of electriﬁcation on households, ﬁrms, health centres and schools in rural areas.
Rwanda has implemented one of the most comprehensive electrification programmes in the world. In 2009 only 6% of Rwandans had access to electricity. The government’s aim is to lift this to 70% by 2018.
We studied the connection behaviour and electricity consumption patterns of households and looked at socioeconomic outcomes – such as education, income and health. We also explored the eﬀects of electriﬁcation on the uptake of appliances as well as on rural ﬁrms and on health centres.
We found that electrification had wide-ranging eﬀects on the living conditions of households whose daily lives were made easier on a range of fronts. We also found that the supply of power had some positive effects on certain businesses and clinics. Overall, our research confirms the importance of electrification has for the rural poor.
Yet, in our final analysis we had two major reservations. The first was that the provision of electricity hadn’t significantly improved the economic lives of people – which is often used to justify the massive costs involved in expanding the grid to all areas of the country.
The second insight was that, given people’s very low levels of consumption (households consume on average around 2 kWh per month per person which is less than 6% of the electricity an average US-American consumes per day), it would make much more sense to extend electricity coverage by promoting off-grid solutions such as solar. This would lead to governments and citizens getting much more bang for their buck.
These reservations aside, our research showed how electricity in the home changes lives, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.
<h2>Impact on household level</h2>
Among the households we studied we found that lighting consumption had more than tripled among connected households around two years after connecting to the electricity grid.
We also found that having electric lighting yielded significant benefits for households who have done away with torches, wick and hurricane lamps. For example, kids’ study time at home increased by between 19 and 44 minutes after nightfall, although the total time children study did not increase. The reason is that children shift their study time from daytime to nighttime, which nonetheless is an important indication for increased flexibility.
Electricity also had an impact on access to information. The most frequently bought electrical appliances after connection were TVs, radios and mobile phones.
Another major effect of electrification was that it significantly reduced expenditures on energy. The average amount that connected households spent on grid electricity was 1,500 FRW (about $2) per month after they had replaced traditional energy sources like kerosene and batteries. And they no longer needed to spend money on charging their mobile phones outside their homes. In total, they reduced expenditures on energy by around $2.50, which is an equivalent of about 4% of their total monthly expenditure.
<h2>Impacts on enterprises and health centres</h2>
Another major impact was that it extended people’s average waking hours by nearly an hour. We found that people were awake for 50 minutes per day more on average because they had better access to lighting and entertainment devices.
People didn’t necessarily use this additional time to pursue income generating activities. In fact, we didn’t find that electrification affected how people, many of whom were farmers, generated income.
We found that it had only a tiny effect on micro enterprises like mills, hairdressers, copy shops and welding shops. Mills were the main beneﬁciaries of being connected to the grid. Most switched from diesel engines to electricity. And new mills emerged because input costs were dramatically reduced and productivity increased.
Hairdressing shops also benefited for cost and convenience reasons. They used electricity for razors, phone charging services and radio or TV to entertain. Before grid electricity they had used power sources such as car batteries which were expensive and cost a lot to run.
Small kiosks, bars and restaurants mostly used electricity for lighting and in a few cases for radio, TV or refrigeration. Electricity meant that they were more attractive to customers.
Overall, we observed only a slight increase in business activities in connected communities. Some enterprises emerged while existing operations marginally extended their operating hours or their range of products and services.
In the case of health centres, those that had been connected to the grid said their work had improved. According to answers to an open question, the main use of grid electricity was for lighting (100%), followed by use for medical machines (79%) and for administrative tasks (43%). Nearly 30% cited medicine storage and sterilising.
The most important benefit was that it reduced costs. Centres that weren’t connected paid three times more for power because they used diesel.
<h2>A mixed solution</h2>
Our research showed that electricity is highly appreciated by rural communities in Rwanda, often leading to cost reductions and increases in convenience. But it does not significantly transform economic activities and income generation in rural areas.
The fact that electricity consumption levels are generally very low raises the political question of whether the high investment cost of on-grid electrification is justified compared to the lower cost of off-grid solutions. Especially the cost of off-grid solar technologies have decreased considerably in recent years and, while their performance is obviously lower, they still improve the living conditions quite substantially.
These observations suggest that instead of rolling out the grid to every rural village, on-grid investments could be concentrated in certain thriving rural regions with high business potential to create industrial zones where firms could relocate to. Off-grid solar could serve as a bridging technology for the majority of rural areas, potentially accompanied by subsidies to ensure access for the poor who cannot afford paying cost covering prices. Such an integrated on-grid-off-grid strategy would enable industrial development and at the same time achieve broad access to electricity at relatively low cost.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91018/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />This article was originally published on The Conversation.

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electricity

Egypt, Ethiopia to hold talks over Nile dam hydropower dispute

Here’s why Zimbabwe has quadrupled its electricity prices

Zimbabwe ramps up its electricity imports to ease outages

How does Eskom downgrade affect monetary policy? A revised look at economic stability

Treasurer of South Africa’s Eskom quits, what you need to know

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What are the short-term solutions to Zimbabwe’s huge electricity crisis ?

Ghana hikes water, electricity tariffs

Here’s why Zimbabwe faces worst power cuts in 3 years

The wage deal between South African unions and Eskom, the country’s power utility

Why South Africa is cancelling plans to expand its nuclear power

Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, plans to cut 7,000 jobs in five years

How Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, lost $171 million

Will energy for all be achieved by or before 2030?

Africa is rich in energy resources but power poor, how the AfDB is working to change this

Millions of urban Africans still don’t have electricity: this is how to fix the problem…

How electricity changes lives: a Rwandan case study

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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