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A precipitous decline in gas output may turn out to be a bigger problem than the recent month-long blockade of oil exports. There is no quick fix for the shortage of feedstock for General Electric Company of Libya (Gecol)’s fleet of power plants, which now depend on record levels of imported diesel the country cannot afford. There is also no other source of generation to fall back on, with Libya now Africa’s only country without any utility-scale, grid-connected renewable capacity, writes John Hamilton.

Gambia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and utility National Water and Electricity Company (Nawec) have invited independent power producer (IPP) developers to submit a request for qualification (RFQ) for the first stage of the Soma solar-storage project. On completion, the plant would not only be Gambia’s first utility-scale IPP but is also planned to be the foundation for a major West African Power Pool-focused second phase.

Algeria is following the regional lead taken by Morocco and Egypt and has signed memoranda of understanding with partners from Austria, Germany, Italy, and Spain to launch feasibility studies into two green hydrogen (GH2) schemes which could export to Europe.

Sasol’s Msenge Emoyeni wind farm has started commercial operations and is supplying power to the company’s Sasolburg site in the Free State, wheeled through the national grid. The project is part of a wider plan by the South African chemicals and energy giant to procure up to 1.2GW of renewable energy by 2030.

Climate Fund Managers has made a further investment into Konexa to back commercial and industrial projects, including a renewable power plant for Nigerian Breweries’ sites in Lagos and Ama.

The issue leads with a data-driven look at Côte d’Ivoire’s power sector. Increasing demand from the national grid and commercial consumers, climate volatility and a lack of gas feedstock have concentrated Ivorian officials’ focus on building renewable energy capacity, moving away from a longstanding reliance on hydroelectric and thermal generation. African Energy Live Data’s snapshot of the project pipeline, 2024-27, shows solar PV has the greatest momentum, effectively emerging from a standing start. Power coverage includes a closer look at Zimbabwe’s Centragrid Nyabira solar plant, where second phase work has just been commissioned. The plant is the country’s first utility-scale solar project wholly funded by domestic capital. ATC founder and director Victor Utedzi spoke to African Energy about the challenges overcome by the project’s second phase and the developer’s plans for phase three. African Energy also analyses the latest news from Zambia where the Energy Regulation Board has approved drastic measures to reduce loadshedding, including a significant ‘temporary’ increase in retail tariffs, use of the national fuel reserve and emergency funds, and greater power imports from the Southern African Power Pool. The issue also reports on the Zambian government's withdrawal of plans to set up a state-owned company to control at least 30% of the output of projects focused on copper, cobalt, lithium and other critical minerals. ESG, finance and policy coverage leads with Senegal, where there is speculation that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s close relationship is under pressure come as the country prepares for parliamentary elections. African Energy also examines news of a shareholder dispute at Senegal's WAE power plant and the indictment of a local businessman on alleged oil import irregularities. The African Energy View focuses on Morocco, where control of the power and water utility serving Casablanca has been transferred – earlier than expected – from French company Veolia Environnement to the Moroccan state’s Société Régionale Multiservices de Casablanca-Settat, which now has a 51% stake. The move underlines the extent to which African governments are looking for new management models for vital services and highlights how the private sector has failed to meet expectations in electricity distribution.

Increasing demand from the national grid and commercial consumers, climate volatility and a lack of gas feedstock have concentrated Ivorian officials’ focus on increasing renewable energy capacity, moving away from a longstanding reliance on hydroelectric and thermal generation. Already a vital player in the West African Power Pool, Côte d’Ivoire’s regional trading significance has been underlined by a $300m US grant, writes Marc Howard.

Speculation that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s close relationship is under pressure come as Senegal prepares for parliamentary elections that could give their Pastef party a big majority or provide some hope to ex-president Macky Sall and other opponents, writes Waly Dione Faye in Dakar, with input from Jon Marks.

Revised in October 2024, this map provides a detailed view of the power sector in Côte d'Ivoire. The locations of power generation facilities that are operating, under construction or planned are shown by type – including liquid fuels, gas and liquid fuels, natural gas, coal, hybrid, hydroelectricity, solar and biomass/biogas. Generation sites are marked with different sized circles to show sites of 1-9MW, 10-99MW, 100-499MW and 500MW and above. Existing and future transmission and distribution lines are shown ranging from 90kV to 400kV. Actual and planned cross-border interconnectors are also shown including lines to Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Mali. An inset provides a more detailed view for Abidjan and the surrounding area. Power generation data was drawn from our African Energy Live Data platform, which contains project level detail on power plants and projects across Africa. The map is presented as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

A shareholder in the 300MW Cap des Biches IPP plant has alleged that former electricity minister Samuel Sarr had made “questionable use” of $3.3m of company funds, writes Waly Dione Faye in Dakar.

The power and water utility serving Morocco’s commercial capital has transferred from French private sector control and is now being run by the state-owned SRM C-S. The move underlines the extent to which African governments are looking for new management models for vital services and highlights how the private sector has failed to meet expectations in electricity distribution.

Khadim Bâ, a central figure in Senegal’s power and energy sectors for many years, has been arrested following allegations by Senegalese Customs over unpaid oil import duties, writes Waly Dione Faye in Dakar.

Côte d’Ivoire was an independent power production pioneer when Globeleq and partners commissioned the first phase of Azito GTP in 1999; it now supplies around one-quarter of CdI’s on-grid supply

Revised October 2024, this map shows electricity transmission and distribution companies across Africa. Private companies or those majority privately-owned are shown in green text. The map is shaded to show percentage of population by country with access to electricity. A small table shows the reform of Morocco's power and water distribution companies, while an inset map shows Nigeria's distribution companies and their service states. A further inset shows Eskom supply areas in South Africa. Two small Africa maps illustrate membership of regional power pools across the continent. The map is presented as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Centragrid, the project company for developer African Transmission Corporation (ATC), has commissioned the second phase of its Nyabira solar PV plant in Zimbabwe, in a significant step for a country that is hoping IPPs might help to solve an enduring power crisis. The Centragrid Nyabira plant is Zimbabwe’s first utility-scale solar project wholly funded by domestic capital. ATC founder and director Victor Utedzi spoke to African Energy about the challenges overcome by the project’s second phase and the developer’s plans for phase three.