BY ZEKARAIS WOLDEMARIAM
Abel Didier Tella is Director General of the Association of Power Utility of Africa was created in 1970 with its headquarter in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Presently it has 57 member institutions in 46 countries in Africa, including Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo). The Ethiopian Herald had briefly interviewed Mr Tella on the current issues related to energy in Africa. Have a nice read!
Could you tell me about the situation of the utility of power, especially renewable energy in Africa?
The renewable energy promotion is on the way. We need to power and let Africa to power, because we need to give enough power to industry as we cannot continue exporting raw material without transformation. Because if we create industry that will create jobs, and we face people in Africa, our population is more than 50 percent young, you need job and we have raw material, if we add capacity building of this young people, we can create job with skilled people and the green energy, we have all in this continent. To go green energy without training, without possession of the local population, local content, then we cannot talk about renewable energy progression in Africa. We need to include people on the ground.
Currently, what are the major challenges of power, especially energy?
The major challenge is that we are lacking investment. The government cannot do all. We need private, local, national private sector and foreign private sector. And the private sector drivers: What are they gaining? And we need good off takers; we need to focus on industry, not domestic mode. So the development of mind combined with industry will be the way to go tomorrow. If you see any country which succeeded, you may notice that those countries develop the industry and that develop the transformation industry. You have to train people and to skill them to work in that industry that you create. So if we do this, the energy will have the needed investment for its development. But in any case, the government cannot do all themselves.
Why do you think is nuclear energy necessary or preferable for Africa?
If you want to promote renewable energy, you need to have base load to secure because those are intermittence the base road, the chest in Africa that we have, we have dealt with hydropower, we have gas split in many countries and geothermal also. Those can have the chance to give at the base load when we develop intermittent. So where the intermittent available, we’re saving the environment. When you are preserving the environment you use renewable energy. And what we don’t have the intermittent that you have to base what not to collapse the grid, because if we have industry connected they need power. So the combinations of those resources are the way to go. Nuclear today have not been used to be seen all day as a something military. Nuclear is civil. Civil nuclear is possible in Africa because we have today news solution with a medium sized and small size unit or can be developed in Africa easily.
Is it cost effective for African countries development and retail price?
Yes, but its cost or the price would be effective if we have a least cost planning for every country, because Africa is 55 countries, and every country has its specificity. So we cannot globalize the idea that we have, we need to go country by country when we focus on regional and looking at our focus global.
Have you observed Ethiopia’s endeavor in developing renewable and clean energy, especially hydroelectric power and sharing it with neighboring countries once you’ve committed?
We are based on development of power sector in Africa is power pools and the development of Ethiopia hydro power, we have the eastern Africa power pool to have a solid grid connected with Sudan and already issued when we have said Zambia, Tanzania Kenya join with Ethiopia you are connecting the southern Africa power pool with the eastern Africa, where you already connected with enough you’re reaching the point where they mean the single African market would be insurance and the cheap energy from hydro which compensate the expensive energy from other sources. So we encourage Ethiopia to continue developing the green energy because that is the way to go. Not to have like other parts of Africa like Western, we have today many diesle, we need to come out of this. So developing the development of green energy in Ethiopia and the sharing within the power pool, with connecting or the country is the way to
Thank you!
You are welcome!
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2023
