Africa’s energy demands to spike post-COVID-19

THE coronavirus pandemic will cost Africa more since the continent will need a lot of energy to build back better.

To deal with this challenge, governments should ensure there is enough energy to power Africa’s rebuilding efforts by focusing on three key aspects — infrastructure, supply and cost of energy.

The pandemic has shifted trade, education and health to ICT platforms, leading to the consumption of 40% of the continent’s energy.

So for Africa to be able to have a viable ICT sector that will allow our economies to build back better, there will be need for a lot of energy.

Private investments will play a crucial role, especially with the launch of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is hailed as the most reliable plan for the continent to survive the crippling coronavirus crisis.

The issue of the continent’s energy is not transitional, but substitutional.

Africa does not have the transition problem in the kind of scale that Europe has. The conversation for Africa is around substituting expensive bad fossil fuels by something that is cleaner and most certainly cheaper.

Fuel-based energies have to be replaced with green and sustainable ones.

To achieve this, partnerships and co-operation are needed in supporting African countries to deliver on their energy and development agenda.

Africa needs to begin to honestly and seriously look at the financing structures of Africa’s infrastructure.

Infrastructure financing is taking shorter timeframes than it takes to build that infrastructure, resulting in debt sustainability issues.

Africa’s power utilities must up their game if they are to remain relevant to the crucial role of helping the continent build back better after the pandemic.

In Africa, only two countries have viable electricity sectors — Uganda and Seychelles.

Their energy sectors can be counted on after the crisis. The situation on the continent needs to be addressed since, again, only 19 nations are operating at expenditure while the rest are operating at excessive losses.

Cost-reflective tariffs are part of the problem affecting the continent’s power sector and the continent needs to collectively work together to ensure regional power pools are viable.

Not every African country can produce energy.

AfCFTA is very important in that it is a game-changer and the private sector can invest in the regional power pools to the continent’s benefit.

Local currency energy investments would go a long way in boosting access to affordable energy on the continent.

The Exchange