The 11-year-old Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) has put several measures in place to avert an impending regional energy crisis.
Zimbabwe-based Musaba says that the crisis
has arisen as a result of demand for electricity outstripping supply
in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). He says that
this is the consequence of investment in power-generation capacity
in the past ten to fifteen years not keeping pace with demand, which
has been increasing at a rate of 3% a year over the same period,
and steadily diminishing surplus power-generation capacity. Musaba
warns that Southern African
regional energy demand would not be met
next year and, perhaps, not even in the year after, which would restrict
economic growth and
negatively affect attainment of Africa's
millennium development goals.
To avert an impending energy crisis, he
reports that Sapp has formulated priority project listing to act
as a guideline to public-sector and private-sector investors. The
priority projects agreed are:
-
Rehabilitation and associated infrastructure
projects, most of which are under construction and scheduled for
completion before the end of 2007, which will add 3 200 MW of power
to the SADC grid at a cost estimated at $1,4-billion.
-
Short-term generation projects, for which
feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments have been
completed, some securing funding, others not. Once completed by 2010/11,
these short-term projects would add about 4 200 MW at $3,8-billion.
-
Short-term transmission projects, the strategy
for which is to support interconnectors that meet the criteria for
interconnecting the three non operating members ?Angola, Malawi and
Tanzania. Musaba reports that the reinforcement of the 220-kV DRC?Zambia
interconnector is expected to increase the power transfer capacity
from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Zambia and to increase
trade between the DRC and the countries of Southern Africa. Work
on this line is still in progress. The Zambian Electricity Supply
Corporation energised the 220-kV Zambia?Namibia interconnector in
August 2006, which is being performance-monitored. The line is meant
to increase the security of supply to the northern part of Namibia
from Zambia.
-
Medium term to long-term generation projects
to supply power to the SADC region, including the Western Power Corridor
Project (Westcor), which is expected to move some 4 000 MW of power
from Inga Three, in the DRC, to Southern Africa and to pick up 6
500 MW of generation at Kwanza river, in Angola.
Project implementing agents, mostly the national
powerutilities of the SADC region, are aware that different projects
require different funding arrangements such as the public, private
and public-private from sources including the World Bank, the African
Development Bank and the Southern African Development Bank.
Additional information:
Full article at Engineerng Week
News date:
06/10/2006
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