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The Electricity Control Board (ECB) has rejected an application by NamPower to increase effective bulk tariffs for 2020-21 by 3.9%, an increase from N$1.65 ($0.11)/kWh to N$1.71/kWh. The ECB said it had especially considered the impact of the coronavirus pandemic when deciding that tariffs should not change. “In order to mitigate the impact of the tariff on consumers and the economy, especially during times when the economy is struggling, the ECB allowed an amount of N$50m from the Long Run Marginal Cost fund.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has earmarked €3.65bn ($4.77bn) in loans to be disbursed to Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states between 2014 and 2020, with sub-Saharan Africa a major beneficiary. Speaking to African Energy during the annual visit of ambassadors of ACP partner countries to the Bank’s Luxembourg headquarters, EIB vice-president for sub-Saharan Africa Pim van Ballekom praised recent African growth, saying: “Investing in Africa is good for Africa, of course, but also for European industries.” The €3.65bn includes €1.13bn from the European Commission, under the EIB-managed ACP-EU Investment Facility, for technical assistance programmes or interest rate subsidies. The other €2.5bn will come from the EIB’s own resources.

The Belgian Chamber of Representatives, the lower house of the Federal Parliament, is expected to vote on a resolution on 6 December urging the government to consider sanctions against Total and SOCO International if they violate a United Nations ban on oil exploration in the Virunga National Park.

President Mohammadu Buhari officially flagged off the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project on 30 June, marking the start of construction for Nigeria’s largest gas pipeline development. The $2.8bn, 614km pipeline scheme will allow the injection of 2.2bcf/d of gas into the domestic power sector once two years of construction works are completed. Pointing to shifting global alignments, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) aims to finalise Chinese state-backed loans for the AKK project in August.

Angola’s government is running short of money just as the issue of who might succeed President José Eduardo dos Santos again comes under discussion. The president raised eyebrows in early July when he said he intended to see out his term of office, and there has been increased repression of government opponents. At the same time, a leaked memo from Sonangol chairman Francisco de Lemos José Maria has sharply criticised the legacy of his predecessor Manuel Vicente, now Angolan vice-president, and spelled out the problems facing the company.

The 40th anniversary of Muammar Qadhafi’s Fatah Revolution will confirm the regime’s hold on power and ability to shape Libya’s direction. Changes are anticipated to the way the political system operates, but more important still may be shifts in the pecking order within the first family, writes Jon Marks

Two consortia bidding to build a 60,000 b/d refinery near Lake Albert submitted final bids in December, and an announcement is expected soon. African Energy understands that, having initially favoured the Russian bid, the Ugandan government, or more particularly President Yoweri Museveni, is now backing the South Koreans because of US and EU sanctions relating to the former.

With the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, the EU loses arguably its most stalwart supporter of free trade, both with third countries as well as the European single market, which former prime minister Margaret Thatcher did so much to promote. This could have a long-term impact on how the EU does business with its southern partners. It also suggests the direction the UK will take as it seeks to consolidate markets in the Commonwealth – a favourite focus for Leave campaigners – and the wider Global South.

National Oil Corporation (NOC) will be paid less than one-fifth of the budget it has requested from the Government of National Accord (GNA) to maximise increases in oil production over the coming year. According to the framework set out by chairman Mustafa Sanalla following a high-level meeting in London on 1 November, NOC needs $2.5bn to get production back to 800,000 b/d in 2017. However, it appears that it will get the equivalent of $425m. The decision reflects both the lack of authority within Libya’s ruling institutions and a desperate lack of cash within the Treasury, which cannot even spare funds for potential revenue-generating investments.

Growing political tensions across Sudan as the date for southern secession approaches are slowing international trade and risk-taking business, writes Kevin Godier

Despite President Donald Trump’s election promises to dismantle the US’ development institutions, his administration has created the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) as part of a strategy to strengthen the country’s ability to win contracts and counter Chinese and other expansion in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Its creation was passed by Congress with bipartisan support in the early October Better Utilisation of Investments Leading to Development (Build) Act vote and quietly signed into law by Trump.

As the economic powerhouse of southern Africa, with a legacy burnished by its emergence two decades ago from apartheid, South Africa is expected to take a leading role in the continent’s politics. Through players such as African Union secretary-general Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the expansion of its corporate presence north of the Limpopo, SA is doing just that. Its ambitions are huge: for example, taking a lead in developing the Inga hydroelectric resource in Democratic Republic of Congo. But concerns that high political ambitions are often tainted by low economic motivations have become pervasive during Jacob Zuma’s presidency, emerging again in Central African Republic.

US developer Symbion Power has sharply criticised Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) for what it says is its continued failure to pay for power supplied by the Ubungo plant. Despite losing a separate arbitration case brought by Standard Chartered Bank, the utility remains intransigent in its dealings with Symbion. But Ubungo has been shut down for several months and another big arbitration case could be on the cards, with all the accompanying bad press for President John Magufuli’s clean-up campaign.

Government reformists and international economists agree that scrapping subsidies is essential if Nigeria is to have more cost-reflective pricing and bite into the rents that have enriched a well-connected few, but the reality that change is a political risk has been underlined by the controversial decision to raise petrol prices, leading to protests and strikes that have tested the government’s resolve

South Africa’s mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on 25 September that the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) would be adopted at the first cabinet meeting in October. The document was presented to cabinet on 18 September following lengthy consultation with the National Economic Development and Labour Council. The IRP is the central planning document for the country’s energy mix and will have major implications for future generation procurement.