Tag: Electricity

AfDB approves US$99m loan for second phase of Electricity and Green Growth Support Program

Frank

EGYPT – The African Development Bank (AfDB) through its Board of Directors, have approved an €83 million (US$99.07m) loan to finance the second phase of Egypt’s Electricity and Green Growth Support Program. The funding is part of the Bank’s budget support to the Egyptian government to strengthen its electricity infrastructure, which is expected to bolster the private sector and accelerate recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. The program seeks to enhance the power sector’s financial sustainability, governance and operations. It will also advance the provision of clean, reliable energy to drive…

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Benin secures US$200m funding from World Bank to improve access to electricity services

Frank

BENIN – The World Bank approved US$200 million in International Development Association (IDA), funding to help Benin improve access to electricity services for households, businesses, and basic public services. The Benin Electricity Access Scale-Up Project will carry out densification and extension works to increase access to grid electricity services for households, small and medium enterprises, and some basic public services. About 2,000 km of medium voltage lines and 4,000 km of low voltage lines will be constructed or rehabilitated and 80,000 kVA of transformers installed in 1,100 localities. At least…

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South Africa increases license-exemption cap on distributed projects to 100 MW in a bid to tackle power crisis

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the license-exemption cap on self- or distributed-generation plants would be raised from 1 MW to 100 MW to help address the country’s electricity crisis, which has been weighing down economic growth and confidence for more than a decade. The increase would be facilitated by an amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act “within the next 60 days or sooner”. It exceeds calls made by organized business and labor to increase the threshold to at least 50 MW, and allows the so-called embedded-generation…

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Senegal’s Karpowership secures US$60m from Mauritius Commercial Bank

Frank

SENEGAL – The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd, MCB, is facilitating Senegal’s endeavour to improve its national electrification rate through its US$60 million participation in the syndicated project finance facility of US$140 million to Karpowership. MCB was not only a co-mandated lead arranger but provided the highest loan commitment. The project finance facility is enabling Karpowership to operate its 235 MW Powership alongside the shores of Dakar since August 2019. The Powership is contributing to around 15% of Senegal’s electricity supply. According to Africa Energy Outlook 2019, Senegal’s electrification rate was…

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Eskom adds 800MW to the grid as Kusile Power Station comes online

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Electricity public utility Eskom has added up to 800MW of supply to the national grid after unit 3 at the Kusile power station was brought online. The activation of unit 3 means Kusile, whose construction is years behind schedule due to labour disputes and design problems, is now producing up to 2.4GW of electricity from three of its six units. “Bringing the 800MW unit to commercial status means construction activity has come to an end on half the eMalahleni, Mpumalanga project,” Eskom said in a statement. “The…

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World Bank approves US$22.5m additional financing for ROGEP to increase electricity access

Frank

WEST AFRICA – The Executive Directors of the World Bank have approved an additional financing of US$22.5 million for the Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP) to be implemented in 19 countries. The funds, which come from the International Development Association (IDA), a subsidiary of the World Bank, and the Clean Technology Funds (CTF), are for the ROGEP, which will increase access to electricity in 19 countries in West and Central Africa. ROGEP, launched in 2019, is undergoing a new development. The West African Development Bank (BOAD), which is piloting the…

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French start-up Qotto secures US$2m from EIF OGEF for rural electrification in West Africa

Frank

WEST AFRICA – The Off-Grid Energy Access Fund of the Energy Inclusion Facility (EIF OGEF) a provider of solar home systems, has closed €2 million (US$2.43m) financing in favour of the French start-up Qotto to electrify rural households in Benin and Burkina Faso. EIF OGEF loan fund provides mainly secured financing to support the growth of innovative companies in the off-grid energy sector. Managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners (LHGP), the fund draws on the Energy Inclusion Facility (EIF), a debt financing facility for small-scale electricity access projects, capitalized by…

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Angola receives US$250m from World Bank to enhance electricity access

Frank

ANGOLA – The government of Angola has received US$250 million from the World Bank to improve the operational performance of the electricity sector utilities and increase electricity access in selected cities of Angola. The  Electricity Sector Improvement and Access Project will finance electrification investments in the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Huila, and Huambo, delivering 196,500 new electricity connections that will benefit close to one million people and 93,857 public lights. The project will focus on electricity access expansion and improvement of revenue collection, electricity service improvement, capacity improvement of the…

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Tunisia’s electricity provider STEG secures US$361m from EBRD to support its stability

Frank

TUNISIA – Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG), Tunisia’s electricity provider, has secured US$361 million (€300 million) financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to support its stability. The financing package is meant to support the stability of Tunisia’s energy sector during the COVID-19 pandemic in the medium term. It will allow STEG to implement an ambitious corporate and climate reform roadmap that would anchor the shift towards a more sustainable and efficiently run company. The financing package will be accompanied by a detailed roadmap…

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Rwanda to extract another 15MW from lake Kivu methane gas

Frank

RWANDA – Shema Power Lake Kivu (SPLK) of Rwanda is set to produce 15 megawatts of electricity by June this year in its first phase of methane gas extraction from Lake Kivu, the company engineers have said. Overall, the plant seeks to add 56 megawatts to the national grid after investing US$400 million in methane gas extraction. The project, which started in October 2019, is set to be finalised by December 2022. “This is one of the projects that will significantly increase power generation,” said Laurent Butera, Branch Manager of…

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