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Experts reflect on methods to ameliorate Electricity supply in the Central Africa sub-region

Experts from the Central African Power Pool (PEAC) met in Brazzaville on February 23 to examine the draft action plan and 2021 budget of this specialized institution. The results of the meeting will be submitted to the council of energy ministers of the sub-region on Friday. The annual meeting of the statutory bodies of the PEAC will try to address the hot topics related to the coordination of activities and the development of the electric power sector within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Despite the persistence of the Covid-19 health crisis, the issue of electricity is a community development emergency, believes PEAC permanent secretary Jean-Chrysostome Mekondongo.

These meetings aim, in fact, to strengthen the coordination of the activities of the PEAC, for an implementation of the mandate of the secretariat of the institution based in Brazzaville and a better mobilization of investments for the acceleration of the electrification of Africa. central. Participants, some of whom attend in virtual mode, will need to assess the execution of the previous action plan and make more effective decisions.

This moment provides an opportunity for the exchange of experiences between senior executives of sectoral ministries and managers of electricity companies, as well as relevant experts. While the ministers in charge of energy will attempt to dialogue, in a direct manner, on the new challenges of the sector and on specific issues.

“The committee of experts is an extremely important mechanism of the statutory meeting of the bodies of the PEAC, especially in a context where the institution is faced with challenges linked to the implementation of its agenda (…). Advances have been made in recent years which allow the PEAC to move from the project design phase to that of implementation. The institution needs support in the coming months, ”said Jean-Chrysostome Mekondongo.

It should be noted that despite its energy potential, with 650,000 KW per year, Central Africa is the least electrified area on the continent. The electrification rate of the sub-region is only 13%, against 90% in North Africa, according to the PEAC, which points to poor quality of service characterized by untimely power cuts.

The sub-region has an annual energy production rate of around 4% compared to 60% in southern Africa, a per capita consumption level of 100kw per year, compared to 740kw in North Africa and 1600kw in southern Africa.

Since its launch in April 2003, the PEAC has undertaken to enhance the energy potential of the sub-region to meet all forms of electricity demand, through the construction of energy boulevards: to secure the energy supply electricity from the countries concerned; facilitate the coordination and implementation of regional electricity infrastructure projects; improve the integration of national markets in this area and increase the rate of electrification.

The eleven states concerned are: Angola; Burundi; Cameroon; the Central African Republic; Congo-Brazzaville; Congo-Kinshasa; The Gabon; Equatorial Guinea; Rwanda; Chad and São Tomé and Príncipe.

The meeting will be marked by the renewal of the governing bodies of the PEAC, in particular the handover between the outgoing permanent secretariat and the new one, Atadet Azarak Mogro, as well as the two assistants.