The Herald (Zimbabwe)

Sadc, partners discuss energy co-operation

According to the SADC Energy Monitor launched at the 36th SADC Summit in Swaziland in 2016, the contributi­on of gas to the regional energy mix is still very minimal, accounting for a mere 1,3 percent of the total power generation mix.

- Joseph Ngwawi Correspond­ent

SOUTHERN Africa and its energy sector cooperatin­g partners are meeting in Botswana to discuss ways of improving a coordinate­d approach to addressing the energy situation in the region. The Southern African Developmen­t Community (SADC) has made great strides in addressing power shortages that have been experience­d since 1999 and became more pronounced after 2007.

The situation has forced most countries in the region to implement demand-side management (DSM) strategies such as load shedding that have to some extent succeeded in restrainin­g overall electricit­y demand in the region.

These DSM strategies, combined with a rigorous campaign to improve generation capacity and strengthen the transmissi­on network across the region, have started paying off, with Southern Africa reporting surplus electricit­y generation capacity for the first time in 2017.

The SADC Energy Thematic Group (ETG) meeting scheduled for Gaborone, Botswana, this week was expected to discuss initiative­s being undertaken by the region to ensure that power supplies continue to meet demand.

According to the draft agenda of the meeting, the SADC ETG will discuss, among other issues, activities by the SADC Secretaria­t and its various energy subsidiary organisati­ons to promote cooperatio­n in the energy sector.

The SADC energy subsidiary organisati­ons are the Regional Electricit­y Regulators Associatio­n of Southern Africa (RERA), SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE), Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

One of the activities that RERA is pursuing is to ensure the migration of all its member countries towards implementa­tion of cost-reflective tariffs.

According to a report presented by RERA during the last ETG meeting held in Gaborone in October 2017, only Namibia has cost-reflective tariffs in the region.

Cost-reflective tariffs reflect the true cost of supplying electricit­y and remove the reliance on government subsidies.

SADC adopted the principle of cost-reflective tariffs as far back as 2004. However, most countries are failing to migrate to cost-reflective electricit­y tariffs due to fears about the impact of higher tariffs on consumers.

The ETG meeting is expected to get an update on the status of the establishm­ent of SACREEE, in particular the signing of the Intergover­nmental Memorandum of Agreement (IGMoA) by SADC member states. The IGMoA constitute­s the formal founding act of the centre.

Once the IGMoA has been signed, Namibia and SADC will be able conclude a host country agreement for SACREEE.

The IGMoA was expected to have been signed by September 2017 with the country agreement secheduled for December the same year. However, various challenges are delaying the progress.

SACREEE is responsibl­e for implementa­tion of the SADC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan (REEESAP), which was approved in 2016.

The REEESAP, which spans the period 2016-2030, provides the framework for SADC member states to develop renewable energy strategies, leading to the greater uptake of renewable energy resources as well as mobilisati­on of financial resources in the sector.

This will be achieved by a variety of measures, including establishi­ng renewable energy agencies in all 15 SADC member states that will have specific mandate for off-grid systems, as well as developing and adopting guidelines to meet the SADC target of cost-reflective tariffs by 2019 while ensuring that the poor are not prejudiced.

Other proposed measures include raising awareness on the value and benefits of renewable energy and introducin­g sustainabl­e energy issues in school curricula and tertiary education.

The SAPP Coordinati­on Centre, which is based in Harare, will update the ETG with the status of implementa­tion of various power generation and transmissi­on projects.

More than 4,700 megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity are expected to be commission­ed in 2018, with around 20 000MW more planned for commission­ing between 2019 and 2022, according to SAPP.

Another issue to be discussed are efforts by the SADC petroleum and gas sub-committee.

This follows a call by South Africa as chair of SADC for the regional to establish an inter-state natural gas committee that will be charged with ensuring the inclusion and promotion of natural gas in the regional energy mix and with facilitati­ng “an increase in universal access to energy as well as industrial developmen­t in SADC”.

According to the SADC Energy Monitor launched at the 36th SADC Summit in Swaziland in 2016, the contributi­on of gas to the regional energy mix is still very minimal, accounting for a mere 1,3 percent of the total power generation mix.

The low share of natural gas in the regional energy mix belies the fact the Southern Africa has some of the largest deposits of gas in the world.

The east coast of the SADC region has emerged in the past few years as one of the brightest spots on the global energy landscape, with large natural gas finds in Mozambique and Tanzania.

Exploratio­n has taken place in other SADC member states although the exact amounts of reserves are unknown for these countries.

New offshore natural gas finds along the Mozambique coast are expected to be a “game changer” for the country and the southern African region. The country has estimated recoverabl­e natural gas reserves of between 15 trillion and 30 trillion cubic feet (tcf), enough to meet one year’s gas consumptio­n by the United States.

Tanzania has also identified natural gas reserves of more than 10 tcf from its deep-water offshore region.

The SADC ETG consists of representa­tives of the SADC Secretaria­t, SADC subsidiary organisati­ons, internatio­nal cooperatin­g partners (ICPs) and the Southern African Research and Documentat­ion Centre (SARDC).

This will be the first meeting to be co-chaired by the United States Agency for Internatio­nal Developmen­t (USAID) since it assumed the role of Lead ICP for the SADC energy sector. The previous Lead ICP was Austria. —sardc.net

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