Sub-Saharan Africa in shadow of blackouts
by Norimitsu Onishi,
2015-11-17 05:57:16.0
DESPITE a decade of strong economic expansion, sub-Saharan Africa is still far behind in its ability to generate something fundamental to its future — electricity — hampering growth and frustrating its ambitions to catch up with the rest of the world.
All of sub-Saharan Africa’s power-generating capacity amounts to less than South Korea’s, and a quarter of it is unproductive because of the continent’s ageing infrastructure. The World Bank estimates that blackouts cut the gross domestic products of sub-Saharan countries by 2.1%.
In Nigeria, the electrical grid churns out so little power that the country mostly runs on private generators. So when a fuel shortage struck a few months ago, a national crisis followed, disrupting cellphone services, temporarily closing bank branches and grounding aircraft.
The blackouts cast a harsh light on elected officials, causing rising anger among voters. Experts say the appointment of politically connected officials with little industry expertise at state utility Eskom in SA has led to mismanagement.
"It’s not only a symbol of failure when the lights go off," says Anton Eberhard, an energy expert and a professor of management at the University of Cape Town.
"It’s experienced directly by people. If you’re about to cook or if your child is studying for an exam the next day and your lights go off, people feel this very directly. There is a very concrete and dramatic expression of failure."
The demand for power in Africa has become a major international issue. China has taken the lead in financing many power projects across the continent — mostly hydroelectric dams but also solar power plants and wind farms. Private companies from Asia, the US and Europe are also supplying power to more countries.
Since 1999, Nigeria’s leaders have spent about $20bn to provide more power and dismantled the state National Electric Power Authority. Yet its power-generating capacity has remained virtually unchanged, about 6GW for a country of 170-million people. The US, with 310-million people, has a capacity of more than 1,000GW.
"Most companies don’t have four hours of power a day from the national grid," says Akpan Ekpo, director-general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management. Most of the $20bn spent to overhaul the power sector is believed to have gone into the pockets of corrupt officials, Ekpo says.
In SA, since 1994 the electrification of households increased from less than a third to 85% — a remarkable accomplishment.
But energy experts say these households, many of them low-income, consume little electricity.
Instead, the shortages result from frequent breakdowns at ageing plants and the delayed construction of two new facilities.
SA has about half of sub-Saharan Africa’s power generating capacity, roughly 44GW. Still, the power cuts have led to people planning their days and evenings around them.
In Johnnesburg, Buhle Ngwenya, blames the African National Congress (ANC).
"I always supported the ANC. However, when it comes to load shedding, I don’t know. It’s not normal coming to a mall and carrying a torch.
"For me, this is the biggest failure of the ANC.
"We even have a name for it, ‘load shedding’. Why don’t they say ‘blackout’ once and for all?"
New York Times
DESPITE a decade of strong economic expansion, sub-Saharan Africa is still far behind in its ability to generate something fundamental to its future — electricity — hampering growth and frustrating its ambitions to catch up with the rest of the world.
All of sub-Saharan Africa’s power-generating capacity amounts to less than South Korea’s, and a quarter of it is unproductive because of the continent’s ageing infrastructure. The World Bank estimates that blackouts cut the gross domestic products of sub-Saharan countries by 2.1%.
In Nigeria, the electrical grid churns out so little power that the country mostly runs on private generators. So when a fuel shortage struck a few months ago, a national crisis followed, disrupting cellphone services, temporarily closing bank branches and grounding aircraft.
The blackouts cast a harsh light on elected officials, causing rising anger among voters. Experts say the appointment of politically connected officials with little industry expertise at state utility Eskom in SA has led to mismanagement.
"It’s not only a symbol of failure when the lights go off," says Anton Eberhard, an energy expert and a professor of management at the University of Cape Town.
"It’s experienced directly by people. If you’re about to cook or if your child is studying for an exam the next day and your lights go off, people feel this very directly. There is a very concrete and dramatic expression of failure."
The demand for power in Africa has become a major international issue. China has taken the lead in financing many power projects across the continent — mostly hydroelectric dams but also solar power plants and wind farms. Private companies from Asia, the US and Europe are also supplying power to more countries.
Since 1999, Nigeria’s leaders have spent about $20bn to provide more power and dismantled the state National Electric Power Authority. Yet its power-generating capacity has remained virtually unchanged, about 6GW for a country of 170-million people. The US, with 310-million people, has a capacity of more than 1,000GW.
"Most companies don’t have four hours of power a day from the national grid," says Akpan Ekpo, director-general of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management. Most of the $20bn spent to overhaul the power sector is believed to have gone into the pockets of corrupt officials, Ekpo says.
In SA, since 1994 the electrification of households increased from less than a third to 85% — a remarkable accomplishment.
But energy experts say these households, many of them low-income, consume little electricity.
Instead, the shortages result from frequent breakdowns at ageing plants and the delayed construction of two new facilities.
SA has about half of sub-Saharan Africa’s power generating capacity, roughly 44GW. Still, the power cuts have led to people planning their days and evenings around them.
In Johnnesburg, Buhle Ngwenya, blames the African National Congress (ANC).
"I always supported the ANC. However, when it comes to load shedding, I don’t know. It’s not normal coming to a mall and carrying a torch.
"For me, this is the biggest failure of the ANC.
"We even have a name for it, ‘load shedding’. Why don’t they say ‘blackout’ once and for all?"
New York Times
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