Globally, access to affordable energy is a lifeline. It transforms everyday life. Reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy creates quality jobs, protects livelihoods, boosts security, drives down the cost of doing business and promotes economic growth.
This year, according to the African Development Bank Group reporting, the electricity access rate is significantly lower than the global average in the continent, with around 600 million people lacking access to power.
To address this, it’s imperative that the continent as a matter of urgency and need scales up investments wholesomely, that is in generation, transmission and distribution.
The Africa Energy Forum took place this year in Cape Town and concluded on June 20 with a bold and urgent call for continental unity on energy access under the theme ‘Africa United: Powering our Common Future’.
For more and better impact though, the African governments must lead the way. The continent may need to have some focus on, setting up enabling and possibly homogenous policy environment, and setting up and/or transforming utility companies for success.
They should balance public interests and operate on commercial principles, increase the number of bankable projects, boost the funding pools to deliver new projects, support ‘bottom of the pyramid’ energy access programmes, accelerate major regional projects to drive integration and roll out waves of country-wide energy ‘transformations’.
In the words of Akinwumi Adesina, former AfDB President, ‘’Africa is simply tired of being in the dark. It is time to take decisive action and turn around this narrative: to light up and power Africa— and accelerate the pace of economic transformation, unlock the potential of businesses, and drive much-needed industrialisation to create jobs.’’
To encourage private sector participation, attract significant infrastructure investments, and harness renewables at scale, there is, however, a need for properly designed, stable policies and regulatory frameworks, mature, developed, and bankable projects, and tools to mitigate high investment risks.
Additionally, Africa must also confront the reality of the need for meaningful stakeholder engagement and mainstreaming accountability and transparency in the procurement and onboarding of strategic infrastructure projects, which are typically identifiable in the energy sector.
Kenya through the Energy ministry, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority and all key sector players is already on this positive trajectory of action.
With robust and agile legal regulatory and policy frameworks, high renewable energy potential, skilled workforce and digital transformation mainstreaming in the sector, Kenya is paving the way towards a more inclusive and sustainable energy future.
The writer is Corporation Secretary and Director, Legal Services, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority
