Africa’s energy crisis is a devastation from the Cape to Cairo, with countries caught in the crosshairs of electricity shortages that have slowed economic growth and now threatens political careers.
The African Development Bank says more than 640 million of the continent’s 1.4 billion people do not have electricity, despite long incubation programs from Zimbabwe to Egypt to electrify rural areas that have, for years, been neglected in planning. energetic.
The researchers warn that as the energy crisis gallops, “less than 40% of African countries will achieve universal access to electricity by 2050.”
Last year, Jean-Paul Adam, director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), told reporters that, by 2050, Africa should have increased its energy production fivefold.
The recurring theme in what has become a continental nightmare of the 21st century is poor long-term planning and investment in a sector where infrastructure built by colonial powers decades after independence is still in use.
In Egypt, a continental economic powerhouse, authorities attribute power outages to outdated infrastructure and low investment in the sector.
Global financial uncertainty has made investors wary about pouring foreign direct investment into Egypt’s renewable energy sector, while government control over the vital national security sector has also resulted in low investor interest, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research and analysis division of the Economists Group.
As early as 2014, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi described the energy crisis as a “battle for our existence.”
Like many other African leaders, el-Sisi blames the crisis on the huge costs involved in financing the energy sector and malinvestment.
It’s a familiar story for countries like Zimbabwe, where the constant failure of power infrastructure dating back more than six decades is blamed for 24-hour blackouts.
In Nigeria, energy authorities reported that in March last year, the national power grid collapsed twice, plunging the country into darkness.
The researchers say that in 2019, Nigeria’s power grid has collapsed 206 times since 2010, with the failures being blamed on a range of problems including “insufficiently trained staff, poor local manufacturing, poor utility performance, theft of network equipment, weather, gas supply, insufficient financing and the age of the network infrastructure”.
It’s a script repeated across the continent, but UNECA has pointed out that African countries have been slow to act on a crisis that has been long brewing, saying there has been “an excessive reliance on coal, which goes against global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions; [while] reliance on hydropower is very susceptible to climate change.”
In 2020, the World Bank estimated that power outages were costing Nigeria around $28 billion, which translated to 2% of the country’s GDP.
Wealthier African countries that bear the brunt of ongoing power cuts have cited corruption as one reason for the power crisis, while poor countries like Malawi say low water levels at the country’s only hydroelectric power station country are responsible for the energy deficit.
The NGO Renew’n’Able Malawi estimates that only about 12% of the population has access to the national grid, and rural electrification stands at 2%.
Malawi is an example of how climate uncertainty is having a chilling effect on power generation in a country where up to 98% of power production is based on hydropower. There is potential to generate 350MW, but generation may drop to 200MW due to declining water levels.
President Lazarus Chakwera, like many of his African counterparts, has seen his political fortunes threatened as civil society and locals pressure his administration to address the energy crisis.
Malawi has committed to promoting renewable energy but, like many African countries, investment has been limited, according to the Malawi Power Supply Corporation.
As part of broader efforts to light up the continent, the African Development Bank (AfDB) says it aims to finance energy programs that aim to achieve universal access to electricity by 2025.
“One of the most effective ways to address these challenges is to rethink how to effectively and productively use the water in the Zambezi River and other water resources for power generation,” said Tapiwa Gomo, an independent researcher, recalling a time when electricity production in the The gigantic Kariba hydroelectric power station fed several countries in southern Africa.
“It is also time to invest in solar powered water,” he added.
The AfDB’s plan is to “provide 160 GW of new capacity, 130 million new connections on the grid, 75 million new off-grid connections and provide 150 million households with access to clean cooking solutions.
“To achieve these goals, it is estimated that the necessary investment will oscillate between $60 billion and $90 billion per year.”
African countries came to COP27 hoping to win concessions to finance the continent’s energy sector; however, loss-and-damage clauses in rich countries once again sent governments home to ponder how to deal with electricity shortages.
Although renewable energy has been touted as Africa’s best bet, the continent’s energy transition has faced many obstacles, including the capital-intensive nature of projects like solar plants and natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency.
For Zimbabwean economist Eddie Cross, the answer to Africa’s energy crisis is simple: support from the global financial industry and the private sector.
“In addition, we have to learn from the mistakes of the past and make sure that corruption and poor decision-making do not derail these efforts.”
