Page 10 - AfrElec Week 25

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
POLICY
Ghana raises electricity tariff 12%
Ghana’s Electricity tari will rise by 11.17% on July 1, 2019, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) which approved the hike has announced.
e 2019-2020 major tari review decision followed “prudent” cost review and e ective monitoring undertaken by PURC, a statement issued by Mrs Mami Du e Ofori, executive secretary, in Accra yesterday, said.
“ e key objective of the tari review
was to sustain the nancial viability of utility service providers as well as ensuring the delivery of quality service to customers,”
it said.In arriving at the decision, it said
the commission received and considered proposals from stakeholders in the electricity and water sectors including Volta River Authority (VRA) and Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo).
Others were the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited, Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) and Enclave Power Company Limited (EPC).
“In line with the Commission’s regulatory oversight mandate, extensive technical and nancial analyses of the proposals were undertaken”, the statement said.
EU supports mini-grids in Tanzania
Tanzania’s UMAME Rural Power Supply
Ltd. (JUMEME) and the European Union Delegation in Tanzania have launched a solar- powered mini-grid on Mulumo island in Lake Victoria.
e facility is one of 11 mini-grids to be
commissioned across 10 di erent islands on Lake Victoria in June 2019.
is rst mini-grid marks the rst implementation of the Micro Power Economy, Tanzania Roll-out, which was cofounded by theEU.
“ e government of Tanzania is at the forefront of supporting rural electri cation,” through partners such as JUMEME, said Ukerewe District Commissioner Cornel Magembe
In the last 12 months, JUMEME has constructed more than 180km of low and medium voltage distribution grids, powering 20 villages with a total population of more than 80,000 people and providing 24/7 electricity services based on solar-hybrid power systems.
JUMEME aims to build and operate solar- hybrid mini-grids in remote settlements in Tanzania.
e project is co-funded by the EU Energy Facility for a total amount of €7.4mn. e Rural Energy Agency (REA) has also provided grant funding.
COAL
Mercuria, S. African firms
place bids for South32’s
SAEC coal mines
Seriti Resources and a consortium backed by global energy trader Mercuria are among up to six groups to have submitted nal bids for the South African coal assets of South32, Reuters reported.
A consortium backed by South African miner Exxaro Resources dropped out of the race due to competition issues as the rm is already a major coal producer and supplier to state-owned power utility Eskom.
While some international mining companies, including Anglo American, have reduced exposure to coal on environmental grounds, traders have not been deterred - sparking a race for quality assets needed for power generation.
South Africa’s government is also encouraging black-owned businesses to participate more in the economy.
Phembani Group, founded by MTN Group chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, has also refrained from submitting a binding o er for South32’s South African Energy Coal (SAEC) a er conducting due diligence on the assets.
e Mercuria-backed coal-mining consortium, Sibambene Coal, was launched in March and is also partly owned by investment company Menar and some black-owned companies and trusts.
Seriti Resources bought Anglo American’s New Largo coal assets in 2017 and has said
it is on the hunt for more, including South Africa’s Optimum Coal mine, formerly owned by Glencore.
Kenyan court blocks Lamu coal plant
Kenya’s environment court has blocked the construction of the Lamu coal plant on the country’s idyllic coastline in a move hailed as a “big victory” by those waging a years-long ght against the project.
Judge Mohammed Balala “set aside”
an earlier decision granting a licence to developers Amu Power, who wanted to build East Africa’s rst-ever coal- red power plant near the Lamu archipelago.
e National Environmental Tribunal in Nairobi halted the $2bn fossil-fuel project championed by the Kenyan government from proceeding.
Judge Balala ordered Amu Power to re- conduct an environmental assessment of the plant’s impact on Lamu, an Indian Ocean tourist haunt that includes a UNESCO World Heritage site and boasts vibrant marine life.
e company was given 30 days in which to appeal.
e tribunal also ruled that the public had been inadequately consulted about the initiative, which has been in the planning stages for about six years and resisted along the way by activists and local communities.
e government said the project -- a joint venture between a Kenyan rm and Gulf Energy -- will help secure energy needs and spur growth in the region’s most dynamic economy. Construction was to be carried out by China Power Global.
P10
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
Week 25 26•June•2019