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Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema is likely to replace the well-thought-of head of Zesco Victor Mapani despite the fact that he is a supporter of the president and has achieved important successes during his tenure. It is a political decision.

Prolonged drought has profoundly impacted hydroelectric power-dependent Zambia. The government is enacting reforms to mitigate the crisis, most significantly increasing tariffs in October on an emergency basis – a move which could pave the way for permanent cost-reflective tariffs. Developers are also advancing a solar PV pipeline that would see installed capacity increase tenfold by 2028. This informs an optimism from some players, such as private utility CEC, over the power sector’s longer-term prospects, writes Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

The Sirexe 2024 event has drawn senior officials to Abidjan, drawing commitments from Côte d’Ivoire to further develop its resources and energy industries

In contrast to the existing Kenya-Tanzania line, and with work on the Tanzanian side of the Zambia-Tanzania line expected to be completed by mid-2026, the stalled Zambian component of the ZTK interconnector remains far behind schedule – much to the frustration of President Hakainde Hichilema. But new funding from the World Bank Group, the UK and EU is expected to see a quick project restart, write Marc Howard and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

Italian major Eni has acquired exploration licences for four more offshore blocks in Côte d’Ivoire.  The deepwater exploration blocks all share borders with Block CI-205, where Eni and its partner Petroci Holding made the 1.5bn-barrel Calao discovery in March.

Côte d’Ivoire is pushing for a big upturn in renewable energy investment as a new event opens in Abidjan

The long-delayed commissioning of the Chidobe Mizpah solar plant’s first phase in Hwange will now take place in early 2025. Power Ventures director Barry Nyabonda spoke to African Energy about the project’s progress and challenges during a 20 November tour of the plant. The Covid-19 pandemic, lack of United States dollar funding and difficulties sourcing long-term debt have delayed the project, which was scheduled to start operating by August 2021.

State-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has admitted that it does not have ownership documents for the land at its flagship Turkwel hydroelectric power plant, leaving the site vulnerable to encroachment by other users.

First Quantum Minerals is raising production at its Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia’s North Western Province, leading to higher electricity demand. With state utility Zesco unable to step in with additional power, the Canadian miner has turned to IPPs and power traders on the Southern African Power Pool.

The commissioning of the 5MW Mutirikwi hydroelectric power plant – one of the few renewable energy projects funded by local investors – is welcome news for Zimbabwe, which has been battered by record levels of load shedding in recent months.

QatarEnergy has added to its existing oil and gas holdings in two promising areas off the coast of Namibia, where the giant Venus oil discovery was made in February 2022.

President Ruto has announced the cancellation of a much-criticised independent transmission project with Indian conglomerate Adani, along with another deal for the company to manage Nairobi’s main airport. The decision followed serious allegations of misconduct made against the Indian conglomerate and its senior management by the US authorities.

Green hydrogen (GH2) prospects in Africa are developing at breakneck speed. But the biggest questions remain unanswered.   Yes, Africa has the resources but can these highly capital intensive projects be made bankable while lenders demand heavy risk premiums on African projects? Can commercial offtake agreements be put in place without penalising more expensive first movers?   And which projects will prevail?  Competition is growing for sites with the best wind, solar irradiation, water supply, logistics and access to market.   If this is yet another scramble for Africa, will it bring sustainable development, unlike the 19th and 20th century quests for physical resources? African Energy follows the debates and the developments that investors and developers need to consider. (Access to the report is included in African Energy newsletter subscriptions).

A sustainable future for the continent is necessarily based on renewable energy and storage solutions as the world heads towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but in Africa gas still has a role to play. A global policy framework driven by the dominant economies of the world may not be what African people and economies need as they strive to shift from dependence on coal, heavy fuel oil, diesel and polluting cooking fuels. African Energy follows the debates and the developments that investors and developers need to consider. (Access to the report is included in African Energy newsletter subscriptions).

The issue leads with Tanzania, where the commissioning of a fourth unit at the 2.1GW Julius Nyerere hydroelectric power plant has prompted the Tanzanian government to move away from gas-to-power capacity. The immediate consequence is that a power purchase agreement for Songas, the country’s first IPP, will not be renewed. Meanwhile, two foreign investors have launched arbitral claims of $500m and $1.2bn against the government, and progress remains static at the much-vaunted Tanzania LNG megaproject. The issue also focuses on Tunisia, where the government's programme for small, on-grid solar PV projects is being revived with the launch of a fifth bidding round. A new feed-in-tariff structure is also being devised, applicable to new and past projects. Although investors saw disappointing results from the first four rounds, the new policies indicate that political and official will is behind a drive to fix Tunisia’s renewable procurement process. Power sector coverage also includes a look at Kenya, where talks are underway to a renew a power purchase agreement for the 56MW Muhoroni thermal power plant, dormant since June 2023. Sources in the electricity supply industry say that a revival of one of Kenya’s most expensive plants could signal that the end is in sight for a long-running ban on new IPP developments. African Energy examines South Africa's progress with green hydrogen projects. A manufacturing plant that will produce crucial components for fuel cells and electrolysers is expected to kick-start the country’s budding green hydrogen industry. But while Isondo Precious Metals is confident of making progress, many more upcoming large-scale GH2 projects remain stuck at pre-feasibility stage. Meanwhile, Saudi giant Acwa Power has agreed to supply electricity to Gotion High Tech Group’s planned Kenitra gigafactory in what will be Morocco’s biggest ever merchant power deal. The agreement could open the door to bigger and even more transformative developments. Oil and gas coverage includes analysis of Impact Oil & Gas' farm-out of stakes in offshore Namibia blocks to TotalEnergies. African Energy also reports on progress with FLNG projects in Senegal/Mauritania and Nigeria. The African Energy View examines what the Trump US election win could mean for Africa.