2. Energy Use, Economy, and Carbon Emissions
5. Electricity
Power
in Africa Overview ...
Power
Privatization in Africa ....
Electricity
Integration Within Africa - Recent Developments ...
Rural
Electrification in Africa
A Snapshot of Africa's Electric Power Industry ... {Table}
Power in Africa Overview
Electric generating capacity in Africa in 1997 was concentrated in two
regions — North and Southern Africa. Combined, those two regions alone
accounted for 82% of total power generating capacity in Africa. The Democratic
Republic of Congo (Central), Kenya (East), and Nigeria (West) are the
leaders in power generating capacity for Africa’s other regions.
South Africa’s utility, Eskom, is the world’s fifth largest utility measured both in electricity sales and nominal generating capacity. Eskom also operates Africa’s only nuclear power generation facility (Koeberg) at Capetown.
South Africa, Zambia and Ghana are the largest net exporters of electricity in Africa. In 1997, net exports from South Africa were 6.6 terawatthours (Twh) of power, Zambia 1.2 Twh, and Ghana 0.3 Twh.
CENTRAL AFRICA
The Canadian firm, Ocelot Energy, and the Societe Nationale des Hydrocarbures
(SNH), Cameroon’s state-owned oil firm, have signed a memorandum of understanding
for the construction of a 175-megawatts (MW) power facility. The gas-powered
facility will be supplied with fuel from the Sanaga Sud field which Ocelot
is developing offshore southern Cameroon.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is planning to develop projects to expand the Inga hydroelectric facility located on the Congo River. The 2,000-MW Inga II plant and the 40,000-MW Grand Inga facility would be utilized primarily for power exports. The combined capacity of these two projects is almost as large as Southern Africa’s current installed capacity.
Three firms -- EEF (Switzerland), Infra-Consult (Germany) and Medis (Belgium) -- have signed an agreement to rehabilitate the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Societe Nationale d’Electricite (SNEL) electricity system. The rehabilitation will include work on generation facilities in Kinshasa, as well as production and distribution in North and South Kivu provinces.
Equatorial Guinea is proposing to replace an existing diesel plant on the island of Bioko with a 6-MW to 8-MW thermal power plant. The station would utilize gas, which is currently flared, from the Alba field.
EAST AFRICA
Electricite de Djibouti (EDD) plans to increase generating capacity by
20 MW with the purchase of four, 5-MW, diesel-powered generators. Purchase
of the generators is being funded by a loan from the Kuwaiti Fund. EDD
also has plans to construct an 18-MW facility in Marabout.
Studies are being conducted to evaluate the geothermal potential of Eritrea’s Alid region. Initial results indicated that temperature and permeability conditions were favorable for an electrical-grade geothermal resource. Djibouti and Uganda are also exploring the possibility of utilizing geothermal resources for power generation.
The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC) has plans to significantly increase the country’s electric generating capacity. A 34-MW hydroelectric plant on the Fincha river in western Ethiopia has been completed, while existing facilities on the Koka and Tis Abay rivers are being upgraded.
The EEPC is also constructing hydroelectric facilities on Ethiopia’s Gilgel-Gibe (184 MW) and Blue Nile (73 MW) rivers. A 150-MW hydroelectric facility on the Gojeb river is expected to become operational by 2003. Additional hydroelectric facilities are planned on the Tekeze, Tana, Beles, and Halele Werabisa rivers.
Kenya has several independent power projects (IPPs) in various stages of development. The coal-fired Nairobi South plant was completed in 1997, while the 75-MW Kipevu II plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 1999. The first phase of the Olkaria III geothermal project is scheduled to be completed by September 2000. Kenya plans to generate 25% of its electricity from geothermal energy by 2017.
Two Chinese firms, the International Water and Electric Company and the Machinery Export and Import Company, have agreed to finance 75% of the Kajbar hydroelectric facility in northern Sudan. The $200 million project will be located on the Nile, and will have a capacity to generate 300 MW.
The 180-MW Owens Falls hydroelectric facility, located in southern Uganda on the Nile, is being expanded to include an additional 200 MW of generating capacity.
U.S.-based AES plans to develop the 250-MW Bujagali Falls hydroelectric facility on the Nile. The $450-$500 million project, which could be operational by the end of 2002, is the largest of several hydroelectric IPP projects currently being developed in Uganda. Norway’s Norpak is heading a consortium which plans to build the 180-MW Karuma Falls hydroelectric project in northwestern Uganda and a smaller facility (10-12 MW), financed by the Commonwealth Development Corporation, is planned for the Muzizi River.
NORTH AFRICA
Construction of the Hamma power station is expected to begin in late 1999
and to be completed by the end of 2001. The 450-MW, natural gas-fired facility
will provide power to Algeria’s capital city, Algiers.
Algeria also has several IPP projects planned including a 1,200-MW plant near Tipasa, the 2X600-MW Terga plant near Oran Tipasa and a 2X600-MW plant near Annaba.
InterGen plans to have Egypt’s first Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) power project operational by the beginning of 2002. The complex, Sidi Kerir 3 and 4, will consist of two, 325-MW, gas-fired units. When completed, Sidi Kerir-3 and 4 will be one of the largest private power stations in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as one of the largest private infrastructure investments ever made in the country.
The Egyptian Electric Authority (EEA) has signed two additional BOOT agreements with Electricite de France (EDF). Under terms of the agreement, EDF will construct two, 650-MW, gas-fired facilities located near each end of Egypt’s Suez Canal. Work on the Suez plant is scheduled to begin in January 2000 and be completed by mid-2002. Construction of the East Port Said plant is slated to begin in July 2000 and be completed by the end of 2002. The estimated total cost of the two power plants is $900 million. The EEA will purchase the power generated from the BOOT facilities.
Morocco’s state-owned Office Nationale d’Electricite (ONE) plans to invest $900 million in the country’s power generation sector. Planned additions to generating capacity include: the Kouida al Baida 50-MW wind farm overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar; a 470-MW station located near Tangiers at Tahaddart; a 200-MW hydroelectric facility at Dchar el Oued; and a 300-MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility near Afourar.
Morocco also plans to expand the Jorf Lasfar plant with the addition of two 330-MW units on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. ONE issued an international tender in August 1999 for the development of a 180-MW hybrid solar-gas power plant. The $200-million facility is expected to be built in the northeastern Jerada province.
U.S.-based PSEG is leading a consortium that is developing Tunisia’s first privately run generating facility. The 470-MW combined cycle plant, Rades II, will be located outside the capital of Tunis. The gas-fired facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2001.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Angola’s generation capacity will nearly double when the 520-MW Capanda
hydroelectric facility is completed. Scheduled completion of Capanda is
for the end of 1999, and Angola’s state-owned utility, Empresa Nacional
de Electricidade (ENE), is planning to begin construction of an oil-fired
power plant in the city of Lubango.
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which involves the construction of dams, tunnels and pipelines, is designed to include a total of 274 MW of hydroelectric generating capacity. The first phase of the 80-MW Muela hydro facility came online in 1999.
The Compagnie Thermique de Belle Vue (CTBV), a joint-venture composed of Harel Freres (51%) of Mauritius, France’s Cidec (27%), the Sugar Investment Trust of Mauritius (14%) and the State Investment Fund (8%), will build a 70-MW IPP facility north of the Mauritian capital of Port Louis. The CTBV plant, which is expected to become operational in 2000, will utilize bagasse (biomass refuse from the processing of sugar cane) as its primary fuel.
Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), Mozambique’s state utility, and Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), a joint-venture between Portugal and EDM, have restored the electricity interconnection from the Cahora Bassa dam with South Africa, by replacing over 2,000 pylons that were damaged during the civil war. Cahora Bassa, with a nominal capacity of 2,000 MW, also supplies power to neighboring Zimbabwe. Plans for a second dam on the Zambezi River, with capacity of 2,000-2,500 MW, are being considered.
The Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) plans to rehabilitate the generation facilities at Victoria Falls. The work is expected to restore the facility to its full generating capacity of 108 MW. ZESCO also began rehabilitation work on its main generation facility, the Kafue Gorge hydroelectric station, in 1999.
National Power of the United Kingdom, in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), has plans to develop a 1,400-MW, coal-fired plant. The IPP facility, Gowke North, could supply approximately one-third of Zimbabwe’s electricity requirements. National Power is to operate the facility, and ZESA is to purchase the power produced.
WEST AFRICA
U.S.-based firms Enron and Abacan are negotiating with the government of Benin to develop, construct and operate an 80-MW power generation facility.
The proposed project includes building a 20-mile (30-kilometer) pipeline
to transport natural gas to the plant, which will be located south of Porto
Novo near the coast.
Cote d'Ivoire’s CIPREL (Compagnie Ivoirienne de Production d'Electricite) project was one of the first IPP projects undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa. The plant, which is gas fired with a generating capacity of 210 MW, is a joint-development of the French firms EDF and Saur - Bouygues (SAUR). EDF and SAUR are the joint-owners of the Compagnie Electricite Ivoirienne (CIE), the former state utility, which was privatized in 1990.
The Cinergy consortium has won a 23-year BOOT concession to build a thermal power plant at Azito outside of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Cinergy's plan calls for a $223-million, 420-MW gas-fired facility. The first phase of the Azito power plant was inaugurated on January 23, 1999. A second 144-MW gas turbine is scheduled to begin operations in January 2000. A steam-powered turbine will be added to boost the facility's capacity to the planned 420 MW. Cinergy is composed of the Swiss-based Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) -- an affiliate of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development -- and EDF.
Ghana has plans for an additional hydroelectric facility to be located on the Black Volta River at Bui. The facility will have a generating capacity of 400 MW and possibly provide power exports to Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali.
A consortium of American and Japanese firms have agreed to build a 220-MW power station in Tema, Ghana. KMR Power (operator), EPDL, and Japan's Marubeni Corporation will build, own and operate the $200-million IPP facility. The facility is scheduled to begin operation in 2000.
The 75-MW Garafi hydroelectric facility was inaugurated in Guinea in July 1999. It is the country’s largest hydroelectric facility and will supply power to Conakny, Guinea’s capital. Plans for a larger (900-MW) facility downstream of Garafi on the Konkoure River are being discussed. A feasibility study for the Kaleta project has been completed, and the project, which would be built on a BOT basis, would supply power to the proposed CIFAK Aluminum Smelter.
Nigeria has signed agreements to develop two IPP projects. Mobil will generate power from a 350-MW, gas-fired facility located at Bonny in southeastern Rivers State. The state-owned National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) will purchase the electricity generated. Enron has also signed an agreement for the construction of a 540-MW power plant. It was announced in early 1999, that Nigeria will spend an estimated $144 million to rehabilitate six generating facilities.
Power Privatization in Africa ...
CENTRAL AFRICA
Cameroon's Societe Nationale d'Electricite
(SONEL) and Chad's Societe Tchadienne
d'Eau et d'Electricite (STEE) each has been slated for privatization.
In 1997, Gabon announced that a 20-year concession to run the state-owned water and electric utility, Societe d' Electricite et d'Eau Gabon (SEEG), had been awarded to a consortium consisting of Compagnie Generale des Eaux (CGE) of France and Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB). The privatization is the first in sub-Saharan Africa where the full commitment for future investment comes from the private operator. The CGE/ESB group has pledged to invest $800 million to modernize Gabon's water and electricity systems.
EAST AFRICA
In September 1999, Ethiopia announced that its electricity sector would
be opened to foreign investment. Licenses granted for power supply would
be valid for 50 years, power generation for 40 years, and electricity import/export
licenses will cover a 10-year period. All licenses are renewable at the
end of the validity period.
NORTH AFRICA
Morocco’s northern port city of Tangier has issued a tender for the management
of the city’s electricity, sewage and water services. Similar 30-year operating
concessions have been awarded for the cities of Casablanca and Rabat
Egypt's power sector currently is comprised of seven regional state-owned power production and distribution companies. The government plans to privatize them, starting by selling off minority stakes to private investors through the Cairo Stock Exchange. A 20% stake in Cairo Electricity Company is to be sold off by the end of August 1999, and minority stakes in the six others are to be sold by the end of 1999. This decision follows the February 1998 passage of Law 18, which provides for electricity restructuring and asset sales.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
The government of Zimbabwe has signed a deal with YTL of Malaysia to privatize
the Hwange power station. Under terms of the agreement, YTL will acquire
51% stake in the facility while ZESA will retain the remaining 49%. YTL
plans to exand the generating capacity of Hwange from 920 to 1,200 MW.
WEST AFRICA
In February 1999, U.S.-based CMS Energy (CMS) agreed to acquire a share
(at least 50%) and to operate the Takoradi power facility in Ghana. The
final 110-MW turbine (of the 330-MW station) is expected to begin operation
in the second half of 1999. CMS also announced that it would construct
an additional 110-MW generating facility at Takoradi. This is the first
stage in a 330-MW expansion of Takoradi, which will double its generating
capacity to 660 MW.
Senegal’s Societe Nationale d’Electricite (SENELEC) was partially privatized in early 1999. A consortium of Hydro-Quebec of Canada and Elyo of France acquired 34% of the company. A 10% interest in SENELEC was set aside for purchase by employees, 15% will be sold to the public and the government will retain the remaining 41% interest in SENELEC.
Electricity Integration Within Africa – Recent Developments
Growing demand for electricity throughout Africa, especially in Southern and Western Africa, has helped to foster the interconnection of Africa’s various electricity grids.
Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) Table
CENTRAL AFRICA
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Cameroon is studying a possible interconnection to Chad’s electricity grid. A 160-mile (250-kilometer) transmission line would connect the cities of Maroua in northern Cameroon with the Chadian capital of N’Djamena.
EAST AFRICA
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Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania have developed plans to create an East African Power Pool by connecting their electricity networks. Kenya currently receives power from Uganda’s Owen Falls hydroelectric facility.
NORTH AFRICA
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A $239-million link between the electricity networks of Egypt and Jordan was completed in October 1998.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
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South Africa’s Eskom and Namibia’s Nampower are constructing a 400-kilovolt (KV) transmission between the Aries substation in South Africa and the Namibian capital of Windhoek.
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The African Development Fund has approved a loan of $6.5 million to finance the Victoria Falls-Katima Mulilo 132-KV interconnection project in Zambia. The project involves the construction of a 120-mile (190-kilometer) line from Victoria Falls (southern Zambia) to Katima Mulilo (northern border town in Namibia).
WEST AFRICA
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The World Bank/IDA has provided a $39-million credit to install 200 MW of power generation capacity at the Manantali dam, located on the Bafing river in Mali, and transmission lines to provide electricity to Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.
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Nigeria plans to construct a 330-KV transmission line from Lagos to Benin. The line would be a portion of a larger West African interconnection involving Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.
Select Transnational Electricity Projects within Africa {Table}
Rural Electrification in Africa
EAST AFRICA
Kenya has the highest penetration rate of photovoltaic systems in the world,
with over 80,000 systems in place and annual sales of nearly 20,000 systems.
NORTH AFRICA
Morocco plans to raise the rate of electrification in rural areas to 60%
in 2003 from 21% in 1994. The government plans to electrify 550,000 rural
households and will spend an estimated $153 million yearly to expand power
networks to remote and rural areas. From 1996 to 1998, the country’s
rural electrification program extended power to 2, 728 villages representing
284,000 households.
The African Development Bank has approved a $63-million loan to finance a rural electrification project in Tunisia. Plans call for the electrification of over 1,000 locations supplying power to over 45,000 households.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Zimbabwe plans to utilize solar power to electrify over 500 districts and
rural service points. Each site would receive solar systems with generation
capacity of either 100 KW or 500 KW.
WEST AFRICA
The government of Burkina Faso plans to have completed electrification
in 48 of the estimated 350 communities in the country by 2010. The number
of communities electrified increased from 18 in 1986 to 37 in 1998.
Official’s from Cote d’Ivoire’s government announced in January 1999 that, with the addition of new generation facilities, power would be provided to 200 villages annually.
The government of Ghana is committed to bringing electric service to every community of 500 or more people by the year 2020. The National Electrification Scheme is planned to proceed in six five-year phases from 1990 to 2020.
Senegal’s SENELEC currently has plans to increase electricity availability by 44% in towns and 95% in rural areas by 2004. Under its Program 3000, SENELEC plans to electrify over 150 rural towns. When the project is completed, all Senegalese villages with a population of 3,000 or more inhabitants will be electrified.