Africa to create single power pool

LUSAKA – African nations are moving toward creating a single power pool, overcoming geographical hurdles in order to light and develop the world’s poorest continent, a senior energy industry official said on Friday.

Joshua Kofi, the president of African energy consortium UPDEA, which coordinates power projects on the continent, said the five existing regional power pools would be integrated into one within five to 10 years. Kofi said power pools operating independently in East, West, Central, southern and North Africa would be combined to ensure co-ordination of power generation and distribution – although Africa’s numerous geography challenges have to be overcome.Kofi, chief executive officer of Ghana’s Volta River Authority, said the World Bank would be a major financier in the project.He did not give an estimate for total costs.”It’s our vision to put our resources together and create a continental power pool.This should be done within five to 10 years,” Kofi told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an African energy conference in the Zambian capital Lusaka.Kofi said most African nations had power deficits, citing Nigeria, which required 10 000 megawatts of power annually but currently supplied only 4 000 megawatts to domestic and commercial consumers.The CEO of Zambia’s state power utility Zesco, Rhodney Sisala, said southern Africa, which includes Africa’s economic powerhouse South Africa, would also see a power deficit by 2007.”We need an additional 1 500 megawatts of power each year in southern Africa to meet rising demand in mining, industry and domestic consumers,” Sisala said.Kofi said African power utilities would diversify to generate power through thermal energy and gas to increase power supply.”Although there is still war in some parts of the continent, peace and stability has widely returned and this has created high demand for electricity to feed industry and domestic consumers,” Kofi said.Kofi said mining, industrial development and rural electrification had all boosted African power demands.Kofi said African geography, which includes large areas of relatively inaccessible terrain, would be a major challenge in linking up the power network, while concern over political stability might dampen investor enthusiasm.But he said Africa was moving forward and was confident it could achieve the power pool goal.”We have a lot of expertise locally and finances will come from the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank and Agence Francaise de Developpement,” he said.The World Bank is financing a US$350 million (N$2,3 billion) project in West Africa aimed at raising power output in the region.Kofi said African nations were currently working on implementing power projects such as the Inga Lower Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will have a generation capacity 3 500 megawatts of power per year.”INGA will serve most of our needs in Africa,” Kofi said of the vast INGA dam, which currently produces power exports to Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and other nations.The Nigeria-Ghana gas pipeline will also enable Ghana to meet its requirements and to export power to Togo and Benin, Kofi said, but he gave no further details.-Nampa-ReutersKofi said power pools operating independently in East, West, Central, southern and North Africa would be combined to ensure co-ordination of power generation and distribution – although Africa’s numerous geography challenges have to be overcome.Kofi, chief executive officer of Ghana’s Volta River Authority, said the World Bank would be a major financier in the project.He did not give an estimate for total costs.”It’s our vision to put our resources together and create a continental power pool.This should be done within five to 10 years,” Kofi told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an African energy conference in the Zambian capital Lusaka.Kofi said most African nations had power deficits, citing Nigeria, which required 10 000 megawatts of power annually but currently supplied only 4 000 megawatts to domestic and commercial consumers.The CEO of Zambia’s state power utility Zesco, Rhodney Sisala, said southern Africa, which includes Africa’s economic powerhouse South Africa, would also see a power deficit by 2007.”We need an additional 1 500 megawatts of power each year in southern Africa to meet rising demand in mining, industry and domestic consumers,” Sisala said.Kofi said African power utilities would diversify to generate power through thermal energy and gas to increase power supply.”Although there is still war in some parts of the continent, peace and stability has widely returned and this has created high demand for electricity to feed industry and domestic consumers,” Kofi said.Kofi said mining, industrial development and rural electrification had all boosted African power demands.Kofi said African geography, which includes large areas of relatively inaccessible terrain, would be a major challenge in linking up the power network, while concern over political stability might dampen investor enthusiasm.But he said Africa was moving forward and was confident it could achieve the power pool goal.”We have a lot of expertise locally and finances will come from the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank and Agence Francaise de Developpement,” he said.The World Bank is financing a US$350 million (N$2,3 billion) project in West Africa aimed at raising power output in the region.Kofi said African nations were currently working on implementing power projects such as the Inga Lower Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will have a generation capacity 3 500 megawatts of power per year.”INGA will serve most of our needs in Africa,” Kofi said of the vast INGA dam, which currently produces power exports to Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and other nations.The Nigeria-Ghana gas pipeline will also enable Ghana to meet its requirements and to export power to Togo and Benin, Kofi said, but he gave no further details.-Nampa-Reuters