The Cameroonian Government has allocated about $11Million to compensate all residents affected by the Cameroon-Chad Power Interconnection Project (Pirect).
The invoice for the project is $924Million, with financing by the World Bank, African Development Bank ($281Millon), and the European Union ($33Million) among other financiers.
Pirect is expected turn Cameroon into Central Africa’s top electricity exporter, supplying Chad with 100 MW of power from the Nachtigal Dam, which has a capacity of 420 MW. It is exected to be ompleted in 2027.
A recent workshop on the project’s construction, focused on the financing provided by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
IsDB’s contribution of $133Million will be used for constructing four new power substations, supporting projects for women and youth in the areas affected by the project, creating a technical library for power transmission, and building 566 kilometres of transmission lines to the Chad border. It will also provide electricity to 409 communities along the route, according to Sonatrel, the company leading the project.
The Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has commissioned a new 200MW combined cycle power plant in the country’s industrial heartland.
Early Power Limited’s Bridge Power Plant is located in at Kpone, in the Heavy Industrial Area of Greater Accra Municipality, in Ghana.
Powered by natural gas as primary fuel, the Bridge Power Station can deliver up to 200 Megawatts “and it is engineered to be one of the most operationally flexible combined cycle plants in Ghana”, says GE Vernova, which supplied five TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines for the facility. “The commissioning of the plant underscores the country’s focus on enhancing energy security, reliability, and accessibility for all Ghanaians”.
Expected to boost the country’s thermal generation capacity by 7% , the project is the first phase of a planned 515MW power plant with a projected cost of $1.2Billion at Kpone.
Ghana utilises around 350Million standard cubic feet of gas per day, the third largest domestic gas market in West Africa. Most of it is for power generation. The average cost of gas is higher than $7 per thousand standard cubic feet, one of the continent’s highest.
The new gasfired plant will sell power to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) backed by a Put Call Option Agreement (PCOA) with the Government of Ghana (GoG). The PPA and PCOA agreements were approved by the Ghanaian Parliament and executed in September 2016, with financial close occurring on November 22, 2018. Under the PCOA, the GoG guarantees certain obligations of ECG in the event of a termination of the PPA by either party. This is the first time this innovative financing arrangement was used in Ghana. Under the PPA, the Project is to deliver power in stages:
Stage 1, a 200MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant comprises five (5) GE Vernova TM 2500 gas turbine , five (5) once through steam generators (OTSGs), one (1) steam turbine unit, an air-cooled condenser (ACC) and associated balance of plant. Construction was started in December 2018 by the EPC Contractor, Metlen, formerly Power Projects Sanayi Insaat Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Metka). It was completed and delivered to ECG for commercial operations on 18th July 2024.
Stage 2, also a CCGT power plant, has a Target Effective Date of September 2025 and a 48-month construction schedule, commercial operations date (COD) is estimated for September 2029. Stage 2 output will be up to 315MW.
This combined cycle power plant features a configuration that uses GE Vernova’s trailer mounted aeroderivative gas turbines, a steam turbine and a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) to generate up to 50% more electricity from the same amount of fuel compared to traditional single-cycle plants.
The project is owned and developed by Endeavor Energy, a US independent power producer focused on Africa and Andaris Energy Limited, a wholly owned Ghanaian energy investment company (collectively, the Sponsors). Endeavor Energy was founded in 2013. It says it “works with host Governments on Just Energy Transition programmes to meet baseload energy demands in West African countries”.
Endeavor is owned by Denham Capital, Fund VI, an energy and natural resources-focused global private equity fund. Endeavor Energy says it has, along with its co-sponsors, invested a total of $1.2Billion in Ghana’s energy sector, including the 200MW Amandi TCE Power Plant at Aboadze in Takoradi. The Stage 1 project cost of $611Million was wholly funded by the sponsors and lenders.
The electricity highway between Ethiopia and Kenya, officially opened in 2023 after more than 10 years of planning and construction, is redefining energy connectivity in East Africa.
This vision of a shared energy future runs for 1,045 km between Wolayta-Sodo in Ethiopia and Suswa in Kenya. It enables both countries to pool resources, hydroelectricity from Ethiopia, and geothermal and wind power from Kenya.
Regional Connectivity lies at the heart of the project. As John Mativo, Managing Director of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) explains, this project is all about collaboration:
“Around 2010, countries in East Africa, as an energy pool, decided that it was essential to have an interconnected hub so that everyone could use and exploit energy and support each other.”
One of the project’s critical aspects is the use of HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) technology, which makes it much easier to transport electricity with long distance transmission lines as Tewoderos Ayalew, the site manager at Ethiopian Electric Power explains:
“The reason we are using HVDC technology is to minimize energy wastage and reduce power losses in the transmission line energy wastage and reduce the costs of constructing transmission lines; it is also easy to operate and improve grid stability in operating the interconnection from the power grids of different countries.”
This high voltage DC infrastructure is the only one of its kind in the region and is the foundation of East Africa’s ambition to be interconnected in terms of power exchange and allow cross-border trade in energy
The highway is more than a piece of infrastructure, it is an economic and environmental entity, connecting not just power grids but nations and populations.
Hydroelectric dams in Ethiopia produce energy in the form of alternating current, which is transported via the Ethiopian grid to the converter station in Sodo. There, it is converted to Direct Current (DC) and leaves Ethiopia for Kenya, via 1,045 km of overhead transmission line. Once it arrives at the Suswa converter station, it will be converted back to alternating current to be integrated into the Kenyan power grid.
The total cost of $1.26Billion was funded partly by $338Million from the African Development Bank. The World Bank, the Agence française de développement (AFD) and the governments of the two countries concerned also contributed.
The project has brought significant economic benefits. For Kenya, where 95 percent of electricity comes from renewable sources, the connection is increasing its competitiveness. Kipkemoi Kibias, General Manager at Ketraco, endorses the project:
“Using clean, renewable energy brings numerousadvantages not just to Kenyans, but to the whole world… it allows us to attract investors, especially in light and heavy industries, who are looking for green energy.”
The project also creates jobs. The development of business zones close to energy infrastructure, like the one near Suswa, creates thousands of jobs and boosts local economic activity. Moreover, the project includes a significant social dimension, notably involving local communities. Out of the 100 employees at the Suswa power station, 70 come from the region, offering opportunities for local development.
Kenya is already on the way to self-sufficiency in clean energy, with the aim of moving to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. By connecting its grid to Ethiopia, Kenya can not only stabilize its energy supply but also attract more investment into green energies. This vision is also shared by investors, who see this infrastructure as a guarantee of energy and environmental security.
The Ethiopia-Kenya electricity highway is therefore much more than a simple infrastructure project; it embodies a vision of the future in which green energy becomes the driver of stronger regional cooperation and sustainable development. Thanks to this connection, East African countries can share their energy resources efficiently, while responding to the growing needs of their populations and industries.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has managed to survive a cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu despite evident underperformance.
In a press statement on October 23, 2024, Tinubu dismissed five ministers, originally appointed 17 months ago to advance his “Renewed Hope” agenda.
The President let go Uju Kennedy-Ohanneye (Women Affairs), Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Tahir Mamman (Education), Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo (State, Housing and Urban Development), and Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development).
The Power Minister retained his position, as did Ministers of State of Petroleum Resources which, with the Power ministry, is in the “energy cluster”.
In May 2024, Tinubu had pledged to remove underperforming cabinet members, saying he would, “relieve any of them of their duties anytime I feel that they are failing Nigerians.” True to his word, he dismissed several ministers but decided to retain the Power Minister, suggesting that, in the President’s view, Adelabu is performing satisfactorily.
This action is in contrast with the daily realities faced by Nigerians, who struggle to access even five hours of uninterrupted power supply despite the burden imposed by rising tariffs.
On August 21, 2023, on his first day in office, Adelabu addressed some of the major issues to be tackled by his ministry, saying “A significant goal is the universal metering of households and addressing the challenges faced by our national power grid.” He also pledged to leverage the Nigerian Electricity Act, 2023, to boost power supply across the country.
Many Nigerians, however, are disappointed, noting that even the minimum targets set out by the minister remain unmet. Since Adelabu took office, grid stability has worsened, with the national grid collapsing eight times in 2024 alone, while it also collapsed three times between June and December 2023 under his watch.
Despite these setbacks, it was only after the most recent collapse that the minister saw fit to establish an “investigative panel” to determine the causes of the frequent grid failures.
A report from the World Bank last year ranked Nigeria as the worst country globally in terms of electricity access, with 85Million citizens unconnected to the grid and a loss of $26Billion annually due to inadequate power supply. In a country where self-supplied electricity is the norm, Nigeria remains one of the most challenging places in the world to conduct business.
Adelabu’s promises to expand metering and eliminate estimated billing have shown minimal progress. According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics’ “Nigeria Electricity Report: Energy Billed, Revenue Generated, and Customers by DISCOS Q2,” the number of metered customers stood at 5.92Million in Q2 2024—a modest increase of 0.25% from the previous quarter’s 5.91Million. Year-on-year growth was only 8.18% from 5.47Million in Q2 2023. Meanwhile, estimated-billing customers increased to 7.07Million in Q2 2024, a 10.04% rise from Q1 2024 and a 17.86% increase from Q2 2023. These figures reveal a clear disconnect between the minister’s goals and achievements.
The most crucial aspect of the Power Minister’s role—improving electricity supply—remains largely unaddressed. Nigeria’s 28 grid-connected power plants, which include 19 gas, five hydro, two steam, and two gas/steam plants, have shown declining output. In Q2 2024, the average available generation capacity of these plants dropped by 5.28%, from 4,249.10MW in Q1 to 4,024.81MW. Additionally, the average energy offtake by DisCos at trading points fell by 3.59%, from 3,283.87MWh/h in Q1 to 3,165.93MWh/h in Q2.
Under Adelabu’s leadership, the Northeast, Northwest, and parts of North Central Nigeria have experienced prolonged blackouts lasting more than four days, with these regions still without power at the time of this report.
By retaining Adelabu, the President’s decision suggests either that he views the Minister as effective, or that Adelabu’s continued position may be driven by political considerations rather than performance metrics.
Egyptian electricity authorities have increased the length of load shedding, as the worsening heatwave crimps the ability to supply natural gas to power plants.
The control centre at the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) informed the electricity distribution companies that load shedding times would increase from two hours per day that have been in frame since the week of June 3, 2024, to three hours per day, beginning from June 23, 2024.
The power cuts run anytime between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., “or until other instructions are received”, the EEHC declared in a press release.
Egypt is one of Africa’s largest electricity generating jurisdictions. The constraint with power generation limits the country to 35,000MW, the influential news outlet, Masrawy reported over the last weekend.
The heatwave increases demand for power on the one hand and also “affects the quantities of natural gas pumped necessary to operate the power stations”, Masrawy noted.
Added to this challenge is the decreasing production of natural gas in the country’s hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Gas output has declined by 28% to 5.2Billion standard cubic feet per day as of mid April 2024, compared with the highest output on record: the 7.19Bscf/d attained in September 2021.
The Egyptian government has also been cutting gas supplies to fertilizer companies in rder to feed power plants.
Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), has launched the pre-qualification process for the selection of a private company to support the implementation of a two-part, 400 MW Nassim Nord wind power programme.
The proposal involves the construction of two wind farms.
Developers interested in building the two wind farms have until June 24, 2024 to apply.
Named Nassim Dar Chaoui, the larger wind farm (planned to be a 250MW capacity) will be located between the provinces of Tangier and Tetouan, in the north of the country. The second is a 150MW project, which will extend the existing Nassim Koudia Al Baida wind farm, already injecting 100 MW of clean electricity into Morocco’s national grid.
The company selected at the end of the tender process will be responsible for the development, financing, construction and operation of the two wind farms. “By structuring it as a project financing scheme, this new programme will encourage greater involvement of the private sector in the deployment of renewable energies, with the participation of Moroccan and international commercial banks in its financing”, says MASEN.
Out of Nigeria’s 10 largest electricity producing plants, the exemplary outlier is Azura, which generated 424MW, or 92% of its installed capacity in February 2024.
The closest performers are the hydropower plants: Kainji delivered 438MW or 58% of its installed 760MW; Jebba output 306MW or 54% of its installed 570MW and Shiroro produced 305MW or 51% of its installed 600MW.
In terms of percentage, Agip’s Okpai plant counts among the first five but the 52% of installed capacity, which it produced, was a mere 251MW. These are all February 2024 performances, published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The report is evidence that the generation part of the Nigerian Electricity Supply chain is an astonishingly underperformer.
South Africa’s National Assembly has passed the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill into an Act of parliament.
The legislation is considered by many experts as the most significant reform of the country’s electricity supply industry since 1923 when Escom was established.
“It will have profound impacts for the sustainability of the power system”, says Anton Eberhard, a Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar at UCT where he leads the advisory board at the Power Futures Lab at the Gordon School of Business.
“Eskom’s conflict of interest as a generator, off-taker of private power, and monopoly owner and operator of the national grid, will be removed by unbundling the transmission system, guaranteeing fair and transparent access for competing power generators”, Eberhard says.
The unbundled transmission company will have four distinct functions – transmission ownership and operation, system operation (balancing of supply and demand), market operation (trading) and a central purchasing agency that will house legacy and vesting contracts.
Some of those who follow the trend of Africa’s electricity supply industry (ESI) will wonder why there should be any applause for the surrender of public sector monopoly to private competition. Afterall, 19 years after Nigeria passed its electricity reform law and 11 years after a massive sale of generating and distribution companies to the private sector, the country’s ESI hasn’t fared better. Neither generation nor distribution has improved and transmission consistently fails.
Yet, over 3,000 kilometres northwards, Algeria and Egypt, whose ESIs are still firmly state controlled, deliver better access to electricity to their citizens. Algeria has 100% universal access. Egypt has over 98%.
Mr. Eberhard, a fierce promoter of free market for electricity in SA, remarks that the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act is coming to fruition, “26 years after the Energy Policy White Paper recommended breaking up Eskom’s monopoly and five years after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Eskom Sustainability Task Team recommended the unbundling of Transmission”.
The unbundled company initially will be a subsidiary company of Eskom Holdings, known as the National Transmission Company of South Africa.
Within five years this will be converted into a completely separate state-owned company, the Transmission System Operator SOC Ltd.
Challenges around transmission and distribution of electricity will hobble the efficacy of Nigeria’s newly commissioned Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant, the country’s fifth largest generating facility, going by installed capacity.
The government constructed, commissioned and concessioned the $1.3Billion plant to Penstock Limited, on February 20, 2024. Penstock Ltd is a subsidiary of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL), which has been the operator of the Kainji and Jebba hydro power plants since 2013.
“This is significant generating capacity”, Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, told delegates at the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on March 1, 2024. He was optimistic about “other forthcoming minor projects, including several small hydro power facilities that will increase in Nigeria’s power generation capacity”.
“Even the President is Owing Electricity Bills– In the third week of February 2024, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) published a notice of disconnection where it listed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that have failed to settle their electricity bills including the Presidential Villa, among others. Other MDAs listed are the chief of defence Staff-Barracks and Military formations with N12Billion debt as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with N7.5Billion debt. The Ministry of Finance, the DisCo said, owes N 5.4Billion, Niger state governor (Abuja liaison office) owes N3.4Billion, and N1.58Billion is payable by the CBN governor”.
Adelabu also referenced the 14 proposed, solar energy IPPs that were awarded licenses for grid-tied solar PV, some of which are planned to peak at 100MW. None has reached financial close and yet to commence construction. “We will revisit them”, he assured.
On paper, the 700-megawatt (MW) Zungeru hydropower plant is estimated to generate about 2.64Billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year, amounting to 10% of Nigeria’s total domestic energy needs.
Zungeru lines up after Egbin (1,320MW), Sapele (1,020MW), Ughelli (900MW), Kainji (800MW) in terms of nameplate capacity, but none of these plants delivers, to the consumer, their capacity limits, for reasons often outside their control.
The minister himself lamented, in the speech he read after an address by President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Energy, the failings of the transmission lines which he admitted was populated with old, dilapidated infrastructure. “I have gone around visiting power facilities around the country”; he told the delegates. “I found lines which bear the label ECN”, he disclosed. “ECN is Electricity Company of Nigeria!” Adelabu exclaimed. “That’s 1960s!”.
One of the two towers destroyed in the most recent attack. Image Source: TCN
And there is the matter of vandalism of transmission towers. In February 2024 alone, two transmission towers were destroyed in the north of the country with explosive devices planted by Islamic insurgents. They included a 132kV Single Circuit transmission line along the Jos-Bauchi Road and a 330kV transmission line along the Gombe–Damaturu Road. This is the catchment area for the Zungeru generation plant.
Even before Zungeru, Nigeria’s total name plate electricity generation capacity has often been widely reported to be in excess of 13,000MW and the transmission nameplate capacity has been cited as being over 7,000 MW, but the transmission inefficiencies hamper the grid from wheeling more than 5,000MW, while distribution companies, the last mile deliverers of power, are only able to funnel about 4000MW to consumers.
The country’s gas supply challenges also continue to impair electricity generation, which is the upstream segment of the electricity supply chain.
In the event, around 86Million people lack access to electricity in Nigeria, while an estimated 40% of all the electricity consumed in Nigeria in 2023 was produced from backup generators making the country with the largest number of people without access to electricity, followed by fellow African countries, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.
Despite the government’s efforts to privatise and modernise the power sector, challenges such as corruption, mismanagement, and lack of investment persist. These issues undermine the effectiveness of initiatives like the Zungeru project in alleviating Nigeria’s electricity woes.
While the inauguration of the Zungeru plant represents a significant milestone, it is imperative for the Nigerian government and relevant stakeholders to address the systemic challenges plaguing the power sector comprehensively. This includes investment in infrastructure, policy reforms, tackling corruption, and fostering a conducive environment for private sector participation.
Poor management has also been a major impediment to Nigeria’s electricity access. In the third week of February 2024, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) published a notice of disconnection where it listed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that have failed to settle their electricity bills including the Presidential Villa, among others.
Other MDAs listed are the chief of defence Staff-Barracks and Military formations with N12Billion debt as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with N7.5Billion debt.
The Ministry of Finance, the DisCo said, owes N 5.4Billion, Niger state governor (Abuja liaison office) owes N3.4Billion, and N1.58Billion is payable by the CBN governor.
Earlier in January 2024, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had also issued a 14-day suspension notice to Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) over N33.71Billion in electricity debt.
The mounting debt is hindering investment and proper development of infrastructure in the sector by distribution companies. The country’s outstanding debt stands at N1.3Trillion to electricity generating companies and $1.3Billion to gas companies, according to Mr. Adelabu,
Addressing the issue of subsidies, Minister Adelabu emphasized the need to transition towards a cost-effective tariff model. He pointed out that neighbouring countries such as Ghana, Togo, and Benin Republic pay significantly higher prices for electricity compared to Nigeria. Given the financial strain, the government may no longer be able to sustain subsidy funding.
In the proposed 2024 budget, a provision of N450Billion has been allocated for subsidies. However, Adelabu highlighted that this amount falls far short of the N2.9Trillion required to sustain subsidies at the current electricity prices. He urged a realistic assessment of the nation’s ability to afford such subsidies, considering the substantial financial implications involved.
Until Nigeria resolves its policy inadequacies, projects like the Zungeru hydropower plant will continue to be overshadowed by the lingering challenges.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has announced a collaborative deal with Sun Africa LLC, a l US-based renewable energy solutions provider.
Adelabu made the announcement via his X handle (formerly twitter) on November 19, 2023.
He said Sun Africa has committed to delivering 961 MWp of solar PV generation infrastructure and 455 MWh of battery energy storage systems, totalling $2.2Billion.
The Minister said the collaborative effort will advance sustainable and reliable energy solutions for the nation adding that it will also address Nigeria’s increasing power demand.
There were no details of execution of the deal; where the projects will be sited, whether it will be in form of min-grids in rural areas of scaled-up projects connected urban infrastructure, and whether it will involve subnational governments.
Nigeria has one of the lowest renewable energy deployments on the planet. There is no single functioning solar or wind power generating project with capacity higher than 10MW.
Adelabu wrote: ‘‘I met with representatives from Sun Africa LLC, a leading US-based renewable energy solutions provider. Together, we solidified a collaboration to enhance Nigeria’s power landscape. As the Honorable Minister of Power, I am excited about the positive impact our nation, aligning with my power sector transformation roadmap of Distributed Power leveraging on Renewable Energy. Sun Africa has committed to delivering 961 MWp of solar PV generation infrastructure and 455 MWh of battery energy storage systems, totaling $2.2Billion.
“This addresses Nigeria’s increasing power demand, supporting economic and energy sustainability objectives. This collaboration is a crucial step in transitioning to a more sustainable power mix, vital for economic growth and environmental responsibility.
“Grateful for Sun Africa’s partnership, I anticipate embarking on a journey to provide cutting-edge renewable power infrastructure to our citizens. Their dedication mirrors our vision for a resilient and energy-abundant Nigeria.”
