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24 IEEE power & energy magazine july/august 2005
1540-7977/05/$20.00©2005 IEEE
T
THE PAST 20 YEARS HAVE SEEN A CONCERTED EFFORT BY AFRICAN
countries to formulate strategies to address the continent’s social economic crisis and
developmental challenges. The last century has demonstrated that every facet of
human development is woven around a sound and stable energy supply regime. The
new partnership for Africa’s development is a bold initiative by African leaders
based on a shared vision and commitment to reform. There are various efforts cur-
rently underway and being planned throughout the continent in the electric power
sector, including strategies towards the phased development of an integrated
African grid.
The worldwide gross installed power generation capacity has increased from 3,000
GW in 2000 to about 3,750 GW presently and is projected to reach 6,000 GW by the
year 2020. The major part of this increase is taking place in developing countries. Out
of a US$150 billion investment by the private sector between 1990 and 1999, less than
2% went to Africa; 40% went to Latin America and the Caribbean region while 36% went
to East Asia and the Pacific region.
Africa in a World Context
Africa, with about 13% of world population, accounts for about 2% of world economic output.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) in Africa as a share of the world total has remained constant
since 1970 at about 2% and is projected to remain around 2% through 2020. Africa’s population
has increased sharply from 364 million in 1970 to nearly 800
million in 1999, and is expected to increase further to 1.3 bil-
lion, by 2020. As a share of the world total, Africa has increased
from around 10% in 1970 to more than 13% in 1999 and is
expected to grow further to more than 17% by 2020.
Over the last 20 years, there have been notable trends that
have brought tremendous changes to the world such as global-
ization, computerization (automation and integration), the
advent of the information superhighway, a shift from analog to
100% digital technology, micromilitarization, super learning
(and distance learning), e-commerce, changing markets, new communication technologies (and
multimedia), bringing an avalanche of new goods and different products in the marketplace.
These global trends and technological advances have had an impact on Africa, putting pressure
on governments to reform and invest in rapid infrastructure development. The New Partnership
for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was established on 23 October 2001 in Abuja, Nigeria,
based on a common vision by all African leaders to overcome poverty; promote democracy,
human rights, and economic and political integration; sustain economic development; and
ensure peace and security. This task, while daunting, represents a much-needed paradigm shift
as it enables governments to examine the full range of issues involved in such an undertaking,
from technical and economic development to environmental protection and geopolitical issues.
july/august 2005 IEEE power & energy magazine
Africa’s Power Infrastructure
The organization of society, national, and social security are dependent on the availabili-
ty of energy supplies. Indeed, electricity is the engine of economic growth and devel-
opment. There is a strong correlation among the per capita gross national product
(GNP), per capita energy consumption, and the standard of living of any society. It
is evident that every facet of a nation’s modern development is woven around a
sound and stable power supply regime. Table 1 shows the world’s net electricity
generation in 2000. Africa has the lowest energy per capita in the world, mak-
ing energy poverty the root cause of underdevelopment in the continent.
The International Energy Agency figures estimate
more than US$250 billion of additional investment in
power generation, transmission, and distribution net-
works from 2001 to 2030 will be required in Africa to
ensure universal electricity access there. Africa’s current
power generation capacity is around 103 GW. The transmis-
sion and distribution (T&D) networks in many countries are
weak and overstressed. There is a need for urgent investment in
T&D system strengthening and expansion. The regional generation
portfolio profile is shown in Table 2.
In Africa, electricity demand exceeds supply. With a population of 805
million (690 million in sub-Sahara), only 10% are grid-connected (urban
dwellers), and over 90% are not served (rural) or nongrid-connected. There is
widespread use of small-scale on-site distribution or embedded generators at
low voltage. These generators (mainly diesel or furnace oil-fired) supply
power to local industries and, in a number of cases, communities/housing
estates attached to them through indigenous private distribution networks.
Continental Africans spend 12% of their income on energy, compared with
an average of just 2% in Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries, thus making industrial production costly. The
World Bank Report estimates more than 90% of the 650 million people (rural and
urban poor) in sub-Saharan Africa utilize wood, waste, dung, candles, and kerosene
(paraffin) for energy supply.
Since Africa uses about 3% of the world’s electricity but accounts for 13.4% of the
population and 15% of land area, it isn’t surprising it has only 2% of the world’s indus-
trial capacity and a per capita income which is 15% of global average. The largest consumer
of electricity is the mining sector. South Africa, the most electrified African country, is 70%
grid-connected, 30% nongrid or not served. In Nigeria, easily the largest electricity market with
a population of over 126.9 million people, less than 40% of them have access to electricity.
25
SOLAR IMAGE:© 1999 CORBIS CORP.
Electricity is vital for social development and economic
growth. Under the NEPAD/AU (African Union) mandate,
African governments are under pressure to raise funds to bal-
ance budget; pay massive foreign debt; fund infrastructure
development, social services, and job creation; and prosecute
economic reform. Recent reports show that while Britain has
the presidency of the G8 and the European Union, a concert-
ed effort towards debt relief to poor African countries is in the
cards. The report says extra aid and more generous debt relief
should be used to fund
✔US$20 billion a year investment in infrastructure
✔US$10–20 billion a year on health systems
✔US$7–8 billion a year to fund basic education
✔US$5 billion over 10 years for higher education
✔US$3 billion over 10 years to help bridge Africa’s
technology gap
✔US$10 billion a year to tackle AIDS within five years.
The African Power Grid
Historically, African electric utilities were state owned
and operated as integrated companies, performing the role
of generation, transmission, and distribution. Policy for-
mulation, administration, and regulation were often car-
ried out by one government ministry, with uniform
national electricity tariffs applied for consumers with the
same load profile. A combination of several factors such
as poor technical and financial performance of these
state-owned utilizes, contestable market theory, challenge
of macroeconomic stability, advances in new generation,
e.g., gas turbine (GT), combined-cycle gas turbine
(CCGT), and transmission technologies, have led to the
continued unbundling, liberalization, and privatization of
these assets, including management and regulation. A key
strategy of NEPAD is the development of regional elec-
tricity markets. Enforcing one of
the stated goals of NEPAD to
strengthen international cooper-
ation can have tremendous bene-
fits by incorporating global
lessons in system planning. The
characteristics of the markets of
California, Brazil, and Chile
under deregulation are sited as
case studies for further examina-
tion as they have introduced
new trade and operating para-
digms and are experiencing
severe economic and technical
challenges in recent years. The
same holds true for countries
that represent the South-South
axis such as Brazil, India and
China as well as a North-South
relationship with the newly
formed European Union.
The challenging socioeconomic conditions on the conti-
nent would suggest the need for a “Marshall Plan” for energy,
such as an integrated African grid, which has been espoused
by the leaders of NEPAD, the AU, and is now a subject of
debate and research by leading equipment manufacturers and
international societies such as the International Practices Sub-
committee (IPSC) of the IEEE. In particular, Brazil with an
installed capacity of 88% hydro would yield a very strategic
knowledge transfer stemming its experience with a massive
energy development program undertaken in the early 1980s
and the challenges of operating under the new market regula-
tions of the 1990s. The geographic similarities of South
American river systems make it important for the planning
initiatives around the Inga, Zambezi, and Nile basin projects.
26 IEEE power & energy magazine july/august 2005
Region Fossil Fuel Hydro Nuclear Renewable Total
North America 2,997.1 657.6 830.4 99 4,584
Central and South America 204.1 545 10.9 17.4 777.4
Western Europe 1,365.4 557.5 894.4 74.8 2,847.1
Eastern Europe 1,043.7 253.5 265.7 3.9 1,566.9
Middle East 425.3 13.8 0 0 439.1
Africa 333.7 69.8 13 0.4 416.9
Asia and Oceania 2,949.2 528.7 464.7 43.1 3,985.7
World Total 9,318.4 2,625.8 2,434.2 238.7 14,617
table 1. 2000 world net electricity generation (billion kWh).
Region MW % GWh production %
West Africa 9,498 10.01 21,190 6.26
Southern Africa 50,007 52.70 197,481 58.34
North Africa 28,905 30.46 101,688 30.04
East Africa 2,875 3.03 10,083 2.98
Central Africa 3,454 3.64 7,696 2.27
Total 94,898 100 338,485 100
table 2. Africa’s electric power generation capacity.
figure 1. Power exchange and markets for an African grid.
Planned Interconnection
Major Network
Spain
Africa
Europe
Jordan
Israel
Iraq
july/august 2005 IEEE power & energy magazine
This knowledge transfer can
support the models already in
use for planning and human
resources development in the
various regional pools dis-
cussed in this article. Figure 1
shows existing and planned
interconnections across African
countries and regional pools.
Regional Power Pool
Development
The objectives of regional
energy integration are to pro-
mote energy trading among
member states, export power
to other regions experiencing
energy shortfalls, invest in
least-cost power plants, and
provide reliable and afford-
able electricity to consumers.
The current developmental
focus on regional power pools
is quite relevant as it should
resolve regional issues of
right-of-ways and equipment
standardization as examples
before embarking on a conti-
nent wide grid. Studies com-
pleted to date, notably with a
long-term planning model by
Purdue University funded by the U.S. Department of Ener-
gy (DOE), allows regional planners to identify the best use
of generation resources and T&D resources. Analytical
results from the models have already demonstrated the
high value of relaxing national autonomy constraints in
favor of regional trade. Africa’s five regional pools are:
North Africa (NAPP), West Africa (WAPP), Central Africa
(CAPP), East Africa (EAPP), and Southern Africa
(SAPP); see Figure 2.
North African Power Pool (NAPP)
The Maghreb Electricity Energy Association was formed
in 1975 and expanded in 1989 and 1995 to now comprise
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco.
Energy trading takes place between Algeria and Morocco,
Egypt and Libya, and Tunisia and Algeria. Egypt exports
electricity and gas to Jordan and in recent developments,
wheels power through Jordan to western Iraq in the wake
of the conflict in Iraq. Reform in this region has been a
slow process. In Morocco, there is an independent power
producer (IPP) in addition to private and public distribu-
tors. Egypt on the other hand has 98 pieces of legislation
on unbundling which have yet to be implemented, includ-
ing an operational IPP. In Algeria and Tunisia, IPP is
allowed but reform is yet to be discussed. The develop-
ment of IPP is mainly fueled by oil and gas resources
being available there. In total, the region “lags consider-
ably behind other developing regions,” as stated in a 1999
World Bank study covering 115 countries.
West African Power Pool (WAPP)
The WAPP, which had been under discussion for nearly 20
years, was formalized in 1999 by the 14 West African coun-
tries already affiliated through ECOWAS (Economic Com-
munity of West African States), namely Nigeria, Ghana, Cote
D’Ivoire, Senegal, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia,
Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Pool studies supported by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) with technical assistance through
Purdue University have assisted in advancing its implementa-
tion. The process of reform is underway in all the countries,
with laws adopted or under consideration.
The model widely used is a combination of privatization
of the operation of electric utilities through contract man-
agement or long-term concession agreement. This is often
associated with the opening of the generation business to
the private sector and progressive functional unbundling.
Vertical and horizontal de-integration is planned in Nigeria
27
figure 2. Africa’s regional power pools: NAPP, WAPP, CAPP, EAPP, and SAPP. (Source:
Power Africa 2004, South Africa.)
South
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
North
Atlantic
Ocean
Western
Sahara
Mauritania
Cape
Verde
Senegal
Gambia
Mali
Ghana
Logo
Benin
Liberia
Ivory
Coast
Burkina
Faso
Guinea
BissauGuinea
Sierra
Leone
Algeria
Morocco Tunisia
Mediterranean Sea
Suez Canai
Egypt
Libya
Niger
Central African
Republic
Nigeria
Congo
Angola
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Dem. Rep.
Congo
Namibia
Botswana
South Africa Desbtho
Suaziland
Mozambique
Gabon
Sao Tome
and Princlpe
Equitorial
Guinea
Cameroon
Chad Sudan
Red Sea
Eritrea
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Uganda
Kenya
Tanzania
Surundi
Rwanda
Somalia
Seychelles
Comoros
Matawi
Mayotte
Madagascar Mauritius
Reunion
Gulf of
Aden
and Ghana, respectively, and Nigeria recently signed into
law the unbundling of the entire industry. Regulators are
operational in eight countries, while the process is at differ-
ent stages of development in the others. IPPs are in opera-
tion in Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo. A
subsidiary of Eskom (South African Utility) is operating the
Manantali Dam and the interconnection network between
Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania (Figure 3). WAPP promotes
energy trading between countries and incorporates the West
African Gas Pipe project (WAGP). In November 2004, the
downstream sector of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria
received a major boost with the World Bank approval of a
US$125 million guarantee for the WAGP project. The proj-
ect involves pipeline transportation of natural gas from
Nigeria to three other African countries, namely: Ghana,
Togo, and Benin Republic. The pipeline is expected to
stretch over 678 km. The project promoters are the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell Develop-
ment Corporation, and Chevron Nigeria Limited. The esti-
mated cost of the project is US$590 million. Nigeria has a
gas reserve of about 185 trillion ft3with a production
capacity that can last for 120 years, which is twice the size
of its oil reserves. It is expected that by 2008, the Nigerian
government will have achieved its objective of eliminating
gas flaring and also earn revenue from the export. This pro-
vides an ample resource for industrial manufacture, process-
ing, and power generation.
Central African Power Pool (CAPP)
CAPP was created in 2003 and a project secretariat has been
established in Libreville,
Gabon. A regional master
plan study financed by the
African Development Bank
(ADB) is due to commence
under the auspices of the Eco-
nomic Community of Central
African States, comprising
Cameroon, Chad, Congo
Brazzaville, Equatorial
Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome
and Principe, and the Democ-
ratic Republic of Congo
(DRC). Energy trading takes
place across some countries.
The process of reform is in
progress in some countries in
this region. Laws on reform
have been adopted in
Cameroon and Gabon, while
the privatization of the former
public utility and setting up of
a regulator are on course.
East African Power Pool (EAPP)
The EAPP follows the general boundaries of East Africa
and comprises Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. No for-
mal power pool exists in the region, and Tanzania is also a
member of SAPP. The process of reform is underway in
some countries with laws adopted in Uganda, Ethiopia, and
Kenya. The unbundling of the electricity industry is taking
place in Uganda, while Kenya has restructured and set up a
regulator, and energy trading is taking place. It is signifi-
cant to mention that the Nile Basin Regional Power trade
Project was established in 2003, with a project office in
Dar es Salaam. There are two objectives of this project.
The first is to establish a power forum to support continued
28 IEEE power & energy magazine july/august 2005
figure 3. WAPP shows significant interconnections in Zone A. (Source: Nigeria Power
Sector Reform, NEPA, Nigeria.)
Every facet of human development
is woven around a sound and stable
energy supply regime
Existing Interconnection
Proposed Interconnection
Ongoing Interconnection
Zone B Zone A
Niger
Nigeria
Ivory
Coast
Liberia
Togo To Inga
Dam (DRC)
via Cameroon
Mali
Guinea
Senegal
Gambia
Guinea Bissau
Sierra
Leone
Ghana Benin
Burkina Faso
july/august 2005 IEEE power & energy magazine
discourse and promote power trade among Nile Basin
countries through the development of an institutional and
management framework as well as planning and manage-
ment tools. The second objective is to carry out a compre-
hensive regional analysis of long-term power supply,
demand, and trade opportunities in order to inform the
planning of multipurpose river basin management in the
Subsidiary Action Programs of the Nile Basin Initiative.
Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)
The formation of SAPP in 1995 through a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) between 12 utilities from the South-
ern African region represented a significant step forward in
techno-economic terms, a step beyond bilateral agreements
between several African states throughout the continent.
The SAPP members are: SNEL (Democratic Republic of
Congo), TANESCO (Tanzania), ESCOM (Malawi), SEB
(Swaziland), ENE (Angola), NAMPOWER (Namibia),
ZESCO (Zambia), BPC
(Botswana), ZESA (Zim-
babwe), EdM (Mozam-
bique), ESKOM (South
Africa), and LEC (Lesotho).
The establishment of SAPP
and its planned evolution
from a loose pool to a
tighter pool with the intro-
duction of the spot market is
acting as a catalyst for the
reform process in the region.
Energy trading between
countries takes place exten-
sively in this region, and
new investment require-
ments are being driven by a
possible shortage of elec-
tricity in 2007. The region
marks a significant move
towards unbundling and
commercialization. In SAPP
countries, electricity laws
have been adopted or are
under consideration. Regu-
lators are operational in
Namibia, Malawi, South
Africa, and Zambia. Regu-
lators are expected in
Lesotho, Mozambique, Tan-
zania, and Zimbabwe. IPPs
exist and operate at a
regional level with a region-
al regulatory association
(RERA). See Figure 4 for a
map of existing and planned
SAPP interconnections.
Power Exchange and Markets
Cross-border interconnections and power exchange
began in Africa in the early 1950s when Algeria and
Tunisia first linked their electricity networks to exchange
power in emergency cases. This was followed by an
interconnection between the former Congo Belge (DRC)
and Zambia. The following decades saw many other
hydropower projects completed and commissioned.
These include Akosombo, Kainji, Owens Falls, Kariba,
Inga, and Manantali. Power trade was limited to bilateral
exchange and emergency support. The rationale behind
regional power trade is that it allows for the pooling of
energy resources and skills with the capacity for optimal
and sustainable use of complementary energy resources,
the development of a critical electricity market base with
quality business opportunities, lower electricity service
costs, improved access and economic competitiveness,
poverty alleviation, and better reliability.
29
Major Existing
Lines
Major Proposed or
Possible Power Lines
Lesotho
Swaziland
Apollo Subs
Gabarone
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Malawi
Kolwezi
Capanda
Zaire
Congo
Gabon
Rwanda
Tanzania
Burundi
Uganda Kenya
Inga
Windhoek
Namibia
Ruacana
Matala
Zambia
Angola
Republic of
South Africa
figure 4. SAPP showing existing and planned interconnections. (Source: Eksom, South
Africa.)
A short-term energy market (STEM) was created in 2001
and a study is ongoing for the establishment of a spot market
in SAPP. The pool aims to promote reliability and economy
by integrating planning and operation of power networks in
the region. A Coordination Center (CC) has been established
in Harare as a focal point for the coordination of SAPP activi-
ties. The CC is in charge of the management of the short-term
energy market. SAPP is successfully transitioning from a
cooperative pool (bilateral trading) to a more generic and
orderly competitive power market.
Africa’s Critical Power
Bases and Major Projects
There are a number of power sector
related projects to build supply capacity
and interconnectivity in various pools. A
number of these are shown in Table 3.
Although not an implementation
agency, NEPAD plays a critical role of
facilitation and advocacy with its
strategic continental development ini-
tiative. Priority has been given to ener-
gy sector development and a critical
mass (103 GW electricity industry) for
fund solicitation from international
multilateral institutions. This reduces
investment risk and enhances asset pro-
tection, which is a vehicle for promot-
ing foreign direct investment (FDI) into
Africa. These efforts have begun to
yield results with the World Bank
approval of funding for the fol-
lowing projects: Southern Africa
Power Market Project (US$452
million); Southern Africa
Regional Gas Project (US$721
million); African Development
Bank approval of funding for
power interconnections (Nigeria-
Togo-Benin and Algeria-Morocco-
Spain); and T&D network
strengthening in Kenya at a cost
of US$43.8 million funded by the
World Bank.
With an ultimate goal of an
Integrated African Power Grid,
NEPAD’s high priority is to
develop the respective regions
through subregional projects such
as: Mephanda Uncua hydro
scheme; Nigeria-Togo-Benin-
Ghana interconnectors, DRC-
Angola-Namibia interconnectors;
Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline; and
the recently approved West
African gas pipeline (WAGP). Funding agencies so far
include the African Development Bank, World Bank, and
the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
New, recently commissioned power generation plants
include the 184-MW Gilgel Gibe hydro, Ethiopia (US$264
million funding by the government, World Bank, and Euro-
pean Banks, boosting Ethiopia’s capacity to 750 MW) and
the 330-MW Qarre I & II, Sudan. New power generation
projects include Skikda, Algeria, 825 MW, funded by
France’s Societe Generale, Export and Import Bank of the
United States (U.S. Ex-Im Bank), and Canada’s Export
30 IEEE power & energy magazine july/august 2005
Capacity
Projects Type Location (MW)
Inga 3 Hydro DRC 3,500
Grand Inga Hydro DRC 39,000
Kafue Gorge Lower (KGL) Hydro Zambia 750
Kafue Gorge Upper (KGU) Hydro Zambia 900
Mphanda Nkuwa Hydro Mozambique 900–1,300
Ethekweni Municipality Landfill gases South Africa 6–10
Jeffrey’s Bay Wind South Africa 7
Kureimat Solar Egypt 30
Suez Canal Wind Egypt 60
Olkaria II Geothermal Kenya 70
Olkaria III*Geothermal Kenya 36*
Olkaria IV*Geothermal Kenya 70*
Olkaria Ib & IIb*Geothermal Kenya 70*
Eburru Geothermal Kenya 20–30
Longonot, Suswa, Menengai, Silale Geothermal Kenya
Rift Valley** Geothermal East Africa-Kenya, 2,000–3,000
Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Uganda,
Tanzania, Malawi
table 3. Africa’s planned new power generation projects.
The World’s Disappearing Forests
10,000
Years Ago Today
Temperate
and Boreal
Tropical
figure 5. The world’s disappearing forest.
*Additional new capacity from existing plant using more efficient geothermal power conversion technologies.
**Untapped geothermal power potential in the Rift Valley region of east Africa.
july/august 2005 IEEE power & energy magazine
Development. The initial capacity of 200 MW should be
available in 2005. An 865-km long gas pipeline from
Temane, Mozambique, to Secunda, South Africa, with a
capacity of 120 million GJ per annum by 2008 is planned at a
cost of US$1.2 billion. Another interesting project will be the
massive 4,000-km trans-Sahara gas pipeline to interconnect
Nigeria-Algeria-Europe. The western corridor (WESTCOR)
high power transmission from Inga (DRC) to South Africa
will interconnect five countries in the southwestern corridor.
The emerging picture for Africa’s critical regional power
bases are: hydro power in Inga, DRC, and Central Africa
with an untapped 39,000-MW capacity; geothermal
resources in the Rift Valley region, East Africa with an
untapped 2,000–3,000 MW-potential; PBMR (pebble-bed
modular reactor) nuclear power and coal in South Africa;
and thermal power (gas and oil-fired) in Nigeria, Angola,
and Egypt.
Africa’s Rural Development
and the World’s Disappearing Forests
Rural development remains the largest single development
challenge; it accounts for the large use of biomass fuel by
rural and urban populations and is a major contributing factor
to deforestation (Figure 5). The challenge of balancing basic
human subsistence and the rights of the individuals in an age
when the inherent genomic knowledge of the forest for future
computer development and medicines has been international-
ly recognized and can lead to strong global partnerships.
First-phase solutions to address rural energy deficiencies such
as solar, wind, and waste-to-energy projects and the introduc-
tion of permaculture can represent a first defense against
deforestation. The primary issues of concern, therefore, to
Africa’s power development are: environmental regulation;
emphasis on green power (cleaner and more environmentally
friendly energy); and the sustainability of energy resources
and technology development
Conclusions
The opportunities of the 21st century and, in particular, the
advances in information and computer technologies provide
opportunities in excess of the challenges that face the conti-
nent, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa ravaged by the AIDS
crisis. The strategy of development planning around the large
resource power bases of hydro, natural gas, geothermal, solar,
wind, coal, and PBMR technology in a resource-rich emerg-
ing market such as Africa can be a mutually beneficial para-
digm in partnership with advanced economies having limited
resources. Collaboration in the global power industry afford-
ed by the World Wide Web also furthers the development of
critical skills and knowledge transfer to support the vision of
a robust electrical power sector throughout the continent.
For Further Reading
I.M. Diaw, “Development of the African power sector
through NEPAD,” Energy in Africa Mag.,pp. 22–26,
Aug.–Oct. 2004.
“Regional energy integration in Africa,” ESI Africa,no. 3,
p. 4, 2004.
“Hydropower potential in Africa,” ESI Africa,no. 3, p.
35–36, 2004.
Energy Information Administration [Online]. Available:
http://www.eia.doe.gov
F.T. Sparrow, W.A. Masters, Zuwei Yu, B.H. Bowen, G.
Nderitu, “Modeling electricity trade in South Africa,” Insti-
tute for Interdisciplinary Engineering Studies, Purdue Univ.,
West Lafayette, IN, 1999.
Biographies
Bai K. Blyden, received the degree of M.S.E.E. from the
Moscow Energetics Institute, majoring in power systems,
generation, and industrial distribution systems He is cur-
rently a project manager with the Cummins Power Genera-
tion Group responsible for distributed generation projects.
He is a Member of the IEEE International Practices Sub-
committee and has authored several papers on African ener-
gy development.
Innocent E. Davidson is a Senior Member of the IEEE.
He received the B.Eng. (with honors) and M.Eng. degrees in
electrical engineering from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria; a
Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Cape
Town, Rondebosch, South Africa; and a postgraduate diploma
in business management from the University of KwaZulu-
Natal (UKZN), South Africa. He is presently a senior lecturer
with the School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engi-
neering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Technical
Consultant to Dasela Engineering CC, Durban, South Africa.
Innocent is a senior member of the South African IEE and a
member of the United Kingdom IEE and the Nigerian Society
of Engineers. He is an NRF-rated scientist, a registered pro-
fessional engineer (Pr. Eng.) with the Engineering Council of
South Africa (ECSA), and a chartered engineer (C.Eng.) of
the United Kingdom.
31
Africa uses about 3% of the world’s electricity
but accounts for 13.4% of the population
and 15% of land area.
p&e
