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Energy officials have warned of power cuts following a breakdown at the 150MW Azito thermal plant. Ministry of Mines and Energy director general of energy Simon Eddy, told business representatives Azito had been out of action since 22 December and was unlikely to be fixed before late April or early May.

Contracts have been awarded for the hybridisation of 13 diesel plants in Niger using solar PV. The projects are part of the Niger Solar Electricity Access Project, which is backed by the World Bank Group’s International Development Association.

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) launched a public consultation on the long-awaited Renewable Energy Development Zones at the end of July. The zones were intended to put in place fast-track environmental permiting for renewable power projects in areas that are both conducive to generation and close to Eskom’s grid.

Germany’s Wintershall Dea has become the latest upstream operator to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sonatrach. The MoU, announced on 17 August, is intended to support talks on new joint exploration and production cooperation in Algeria and abroad, Sonatrach said in a statement.

Total’s 58%-owned affiliate Total Gabon has signed an agreement with mature fields specialist Perenco to sell its interests in seven mature non-operated offshore fields, along with its interest and operatorship in the Cap Lopez oil terminal.

The Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility is due to be formally commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari on 31 October. The plant, built by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) in Ologbo, Ikpoba-Okha local government area of Edo State, will supply LPG to the domestic market, significantly reducing imports.

The African Union Commission has received 17 expressions of interest (EoIs) for the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility’s sixth application round. The EoIs, for projects in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya,Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, consisted of ten surface studies and seven drilling programmes, and were submitted by both private and public entities. Bid opening took place on 3 August.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has issued a request for proposals from consultants to oversee the rehabilitation of units I, II and III of the Olkaria I geothermal plant near Naivasha.

The US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a $450m compact agreement on 13 August focusing on the power sector. In addition to the $450m pledged by MCC for this second compact with Burkina Faso, the Burkinabè government has pledged to invest $50m in the compact’s projects. The compact aims to benefit 8m people through strengthening regulations and institutions, improving energy infrastructure, increasing generation capacity, and source diversification.This will include improved access to electricity for the two largest cities, Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso.

Sweden’s Swedfund has committed $12m to SunFunder’s Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund, bringing commitments to the fund to $60m. Other investors include the US International Development Finance Corporation – which invested $25m in 2018 – Calvert Impact Capital, Ceniarth, and Ikea Foundation. SunFunder said the fund’s junior layer, which is usually occupied by development finance institutions and philanthropic investors, is now fully committed, but $10m remains available to senior investors.

Energy minister Elizabeth Dipuo Peters has ordered an audit to establish the reliability of six oil refineries following an increasing number of unplanned shutdowns

Democratic Republic of Congo catches the imagination of those who see its potential to drive Africa’s future through its mineral wealth, resourceful population and the Inga Falls hydroelectric resource. But grandiose visions tend to founder on rocky realities in this vast, extravagantly diverse country, where power politics and the global commodities price crash – which in early May forced the government to cut 2016 spending by some 22% – have deeply unsettled much of what remains of international business. In May, major investor Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Cobalt announced it was selling up.

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has agreed a loan of FCFA20bn ($41m) to the Niger government to fund the expansion of the capital’s main power plant. Capacity at the Goudel plant will be expanded to 65MW from 35MW to improve supply to the Niamey region. Most of Niger’s power comes from the Kandji dam in Nigeria, which supplies towns in the south and centre-east. Northern Niger is supplied through local production by Niger coal company Sonichar, which also supplies power to Areva’s uranium mines.

The East African Community (EAC) Sectoral Council on Energy has approved an energy security policy framework for the region which aims to provide policy guidance towards better understanding, measurement, monitoring, evaluation and management of energy security risks and challenges.

Wärtsilä has announced a framework supply contract for the generating equipment for three new fast-track power plant projects being developed by Dongfang Electric International Corporation. The new baseload plants will be located in Luena, Benguela and Saurimo, and will each have an electrical output of approximately 23MW.