Parliamentary approval for a deal to install up to 400MW at Tema opens the way for a power purchase agreement to be signed by the Early Power Ltd consortium of Endeavor Energy, the local Sage Petroleum and GE. Local advocacy groups have raised concerns about pricing, but the Bridge Power project is the only new scheme currently working its way through the system, where other independent power projects have been stalled by World Bank and other donors’ concerns over financing.

There is a curious disconnection between Egypt’s dire political and financial straits and the relatively upbeat assessments from the international oil companies (IOCs) developing assets there. In spite of the continued closure of Eni and Union Fenosa’s Damietta LNG export terminal and the substantial debt owed by Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to domestic gas producers, long-term prospects still appear to justify investments.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) officially launched a public consultation process on 18 March for new procurement via the Section 34 Ministerial Determination. If Nersa gives its approval, the ministerial determination will allow procurement of new capacity set out in the country’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). However, disruption caused by the coronavirus – a three-week lockdown has been ordered from 26 March – is likely to delay the process, which was already expected to last three months for the emergency procurement and six months for the rest. Nersa has asked its staff to work from home.

US developer Symbion Power Tanzania Ltd on 13 March filed a request for arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris claiming breach of contract due to non-payment by Tanzania Electricity Supply Corporation (Tanesco) for power from the 126MW Ubungo plant (AE 331/1). Symbion says Tanesco has refused to pay for its power since the contract was agreed, claiming variously that the power purchase agreement (PPA) had been “put on hold”, never been signed or, later, that it had been rescinded.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative will hold its fourth international conference in Doha on 16-18 February 2009.

Senior Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and World Bank Group (WBG) officials have been negotiating an estimated $2.519bn loan to support the Buhari administration’s Power Sector Recovery Plan (PSRP), announced in late February. Taking the lead is the Advisory Power Team, lodged in the office of Vice-President Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, the key player driving policy during President Muhammadu Buhari’s period of protracted illness. The FGN’s key negotiators are finance minister Kemi Adeosun and power, works and housing minister Babatunde Fashola.

With elections coming up on 8 May, the power crisis in South Africa has peaked at an inconvenient time for President Cyril Ramaphosa. While opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Alliance, are seeking to make political capital out of the catastrophic deterioration in technical and financial performance at Eskom, there are also concerns that no substantial policy measures are likely until after the elections. This could have implications for policies such as the unbundling of transmission, where the government had aimed to appoint directors for a new entity around mid-year.

Veteran Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo) leader Afonso Dhlakama’s surprise return to the bush in October 2012 was an unsettling reminder of the fragility of post-conflict Mozambique, as guerrilla roadblocks returned and coal exports were halted in the central region. Renamo’s rebellion was triggered by demands for a greater share of state jobs and resources. A peace agreement signed on 24 August 2014 promised jobs, above all in the army and police, and set a platform for campaigning to start for general elections on 15 October.

Industry scepticism about the project’s economics notwithstanding, on 23 January, President Uhuru Kenyatta shook hands with Total executive committee member Momar Nguer to confirm the French major’s commitment to investing in the Lokichar-Lamu oil pipeline. These things matter in East African oil and geostrategic manoeuvring; Uganda’s export pipeline was planned to pass through Lokichar until Total backed a rival route to Tanzania, but having since bought Maersk Oil, it needs an export route in Kenya too.

As his presidency passes its second anniversary, Muhammadu Buhari is back in a London clinic, being treated for cancer. His absences, about which few facts filter officially, are causing jitters. The president had been expected to deliver a major anniversary speech on 29 May but remained abroad. Chief of army staff General Tukur Buratai’s 16 May warning that “some individuals have been approaching some officers and soldiers for undisclosed political reasons” added to the febrile atmosphere.

With elections now set to go ahead and new donor support in prospect, Côte d’Ivoire may finally be able to resume its central role in the West African regional economy

One country where progress is being made is Mozambique, where national utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) has invested heavily in new connections over the past year, placing it under significant financial strain. Partly as a result, the government launched the Energy for All programme in 2018, which aims to achieve universal access to power by 2030 and sets out a new structure for electrification which takes some of the financial burden away from the utility.

Markets have welcomed the announcement that five groups have been selected to take over PHCN’s generation plants, and that distribution bids will be announced soon. But enthusiasm about Nigeria’s power privatisation programme is tempered by concerns over some of the shareholders, write Leo Lawal in Lagos and Jon Marks.

Anthony Khama, son of founding president Sir Seretse Khama and younger brother of President Ian Khama, has joined the board of Australian miner A-Cap Resources’ local subsidiary A-Cap Resources Botswana.

It may be symbolic that, beyond the state-run grid, Tanzania provides an enticing opportunity for innovative investors to build businesses in marginalised communities with aspirations to move beyond energy poverty. Tanzania has been a pioneer in the sub-Saharan off-grid revolution, where mini-grid operator Jumeme and other innovators have been able to build their businesses. Germany’s Redavia last year began operating its first two mini-grids, supported by InfraCo Africa.