Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI) - Assembling Practical Knowledge on Access in Africa
Background
Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) low level of household electrification is well documented. Less than 10% of Sub-Saharan rural households have access to electricity and the overall access rate is below 25%. The causes are multiple and range from economic impediments, population distribution and lack of funding to sub-optimal policies and electrification program designs. One major obstacle is that it is difficult for SSA practitioners to obtain practical and timely knowledge on how to overcome existing economic, technical, institutional and political barriers to electrification in their day-to-day work. Even where laws, regulations and necessary institutions are in place, relevant and recent operational experiences and techniques are not easily accessible.
The objective of the three year AEI project is to create and sustain a living body of practical knowledge and a network of SSA practitioners in the area of design and implementation of rural, peri-urban and urban on-grid and off-grid electrification programs. The principal target audience will be African practitioners. These include staff of electrification agencies and funds, government ministries, regulators and state, community or privately-owned utilities.
Implementation
The project is being organized in three phases using complementary approaches to produce and disseminate information:
Phase I was started with a Kick-Off Workshop in Maputo from June 9th to June 11th, 2009 for practitioners, where ground level techniques were presented and discussed. The workshop achieved (i) refining the topic areas of greatest interest, (ii) establishing “Thematic Groups” of interested participants who want to actively contribute to the future AEI work. Long-term dissemination mechanisms were identified, such as a living Internet Web site with a collaborative component (“AEI Wiki”) and a database with annotated implementation documents, such as tender documents and model laws.
Building on the workshop and dissemination mechanisms, Phase II will then produce thematic papers and a flagship publication consisting of a comprehensive, up-to date overview of SSA electrification status and practical lessons, relying on case studies and detailed technical papers on all important implementation topics. While the focus will be on Sub-Sahara African experiences, other international experiences will be illustrated if they are found to be relevant.
The project will be implemented in partnership with other organizations (both local and international) with an emphasis on local knowledge sharing. The key partners for Phase I include the Forum of the Energy Ministers of Africa (FEMA), EUEI-European Union Energy Initiative, GTZ and the World Bank. Involvement of other organizations for later phases will be actively pursued. Phase III will institutionalize AEI by passing it on to one or more partner organizations to be identified over time.
Documentation on the Maputo workshop is provided by the Forum of Energy Ministers of Africa: http://www.fema-africa.net/en/news-&-events
and by the World Bank Group (see below).
Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI) Workshop Maputo, June 2009