By Staff Writer for Moakanyi Magazine
The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa was established to harness all African energy resources to ensure access to modern energy for all African households, businesses and industries by developing efficient, reliable, cost effective and environmentally friendly energy infrastructure resulting in poverty eradication and vigorous sustainable development of the continent.
Power demand will increase six-fold between 2010 and 2040, an average annual growth of nearly 6%. To keep pace, installed power generation capacity must rise from present levels of 125 gigawatts to almost 700 gigawatts by 2040. Through full implementation of the PIDA energy sector program, Africa will reap savings on electricity production costs of US$30 billion a year through power interconnectors which will integrate the African power market through Power Pools and enable large-scale hydropower generation projects to be developed resulting increased access to power by business and households as power will move from surplus to deficit areas through inter-regional trade. Power access will rise from 39% in 2009 to nearly 70% in 2040, providing access to 800 million more people.
Only 39% of the African population has access to electricity, compared to 70-90% in other parts of the developing world. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa’s power connectivity is at 39MW per million inhabitants, the lowest in any developing region.
More than 30 African countries experience recurrent outages and load shedding, with opportunity costs amounting to as much as 2 per cent of the total annual value of the economy.
Key challenges facing Africa’s electricity sector include the recurrent shocks in oil and gas markets, inefficient supply and consumption practices, growing demand, unstable rainfall patterns as well as limited generation capacity and lack of inter-connectivity of power grids.
Behind the under-exploitation of energy resources lies limited capacity to mobilize financing for investment, especially from private sources, owing to policy, institutional and regulatory issues which need to be addressed to create the necessary enabling environment for the much needed investments in energy to be made.
“More cost-effective power is critical for driving faster economic growth and equitable social development,” said AfDB President, Mr. Donald KABERUKA.
The modernization of Africa’s economies, coupled with social progress and a commitment to widening access to electricity, will boost energy demand in Africa by an average 5.7% annually through 2040 to 3,188 TWh, a 5.4-fold increase.
Per capita energy consumption is expected to rise from its current level of 612 kWh per capita in 2011, the lowest of any world region, to 1,757 kWh per capita by 2040
Total demand from industry is projected to increase from 431 TWh in 2011 to 1,806 TWh by 2040, an annual growth rate of 5.1%
To keep pace, generation capacity must increase by 6% per year to 694 GW in 2040. Presently, the whole of Africa has just 125GW of generating capacity
The role of coal will fall as gas and nuclear power are developed. The rapid increase in consumption of liquid petroleum products will challenge Africa to meet demand through the development of refineries supplied by African crude and of pipelines to transport increasing volumes of petroleum products.
Source: AfDB
