Page 9 - AfrElec Week 11 2021

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AfDB to finance Angola’s

north-south grid link

ANGOLA THE African Development Bank (AfDB) is to Programme (ESEEP) in Angola, which will assist
provide $530mn in financing to support the con- the government to connect the country’s trans-
struction of a 343-km power line that will con- mission grids and tackle limited operational
nect Angola’s two isolated transmission grids. capacity within the Angolan power distribution
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is to utility ENDE.
provide $530mn in financing to support the con- Around 80% of residential customers in
struction of a 343-km power line that will con- Angola are not metered, resulting in financial
nect Angola’s two isolated transmission grids. losses and reliance on government subsidies. As
The 400-kV central-south transmission line part of the ESEEP, 860,000 pre-paid meters will
will support the distribution of clean energy be installed and 400,000 new customers will be
between the two regions. The north of the coun- connected to the grid and effectively metered.
try currently has a surplus of over 1,000 MW, At the regional level, the ESEEP will be the
mostly renewables, whereas the south relies on first step to enabling a connection to the South-
expensive diesel generators, supported by gov- ern Africa Power Pool (SAPP).
ernment subsidies. The new transmission line will become the
The power line will be able to transmit 2,250 backbone for the distribution of power to the
MW and will eliminate the need for polluting, southern provinces of Angola and northern
diesel-powered generators in southern prov- Namibia, and will enable further power trading
inces. The project, once operational in 2023, will between countries in the region.
avert the consumption of 46.8bn litres of diesel The funding follows two other recent AfDB
per year in the south, cutting 80 megatonnes of contributions to Angola’s energy sector strategy.
CO2 emissions. The government of Angola will In 2015, the bank approved a $1bn power
save more than $130mn per year in diesel subsi- sector reform loan for Angola, which resulted in
dies, the AfDB said. the creation of an independent regulator and the
The finance package, which was originally unbundling of the sector into generation, trans-
approved by the bank in December 2019, con- mission and distribution companies.
sists of $480mn in financing from the bank, Angola has significantly improved capacity,
along with $50mn from the Africa Growing the operational efficiency and sustainability of
Together Fund, a $2bn facility sponsored by the the electricity sector. From 2015 to 2019, total
People’s Bank of China and administered by the installed renewable capacity rose from 1,017
AfDB. MW to 2,763 MW, mainly through the improved
The funding covers the first phase of the exploitation of the country’s abundant hydro-
Energy Sector Efficiency and Expansion power resources.™

MDM LENDING
World Bank backs Liberia’s $180mn

post-COVID-19 recovery

LIBERIA THE World Bank is launching a $180mn sup- The whole MPA funding package also
port programme to improve Liberia’s power sec- includes grant support of $2.5mn from the
tor and to boost post-coronavirus (COVID-19) Energy Sector Management Assistance Pro-
economic recovery. gramme (ESMAP) and $2.7mn from Japan Pol-
The bank is to provide the funding for the icy and Human Resources Development Fund
Liberia Electricity Sector Strengthening and (PHRD), both of which will be administered by
Access Project (LESSAP), the first part of a the World Bank.
$180mn multi-phase programmatic approach The project will rehabilitate and expand elec-
(MPA) that aims to deliver sustainable, reliable tricity infrastructure and provide sustainable
and affordable electricity to 632,500 Liberians. solutions for electricity access.
The World Bank’s International Develop- The LESSAP will target mainly two key areas
ment Association (IDA) will provide an initial – grid electrification in the greater Monrovia area
$44mn in loans and $15mn as a grant to begin and provide for a sustainable business model for
the LESSAP. scaling up renewable energy-based mini-grids

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