Rural electrification requires funding: Regional energy stakeholders say Zimbabwe should seek ways to finance the expansion of rural electrification through the use of renewable sources of energy. Regional energy regulatory authorities are in Harare to deliberate on ways of financing sustainable electrification at the same time as they are interrogating adopted energy policies. Addressing stakeholders, Namibia Electricity Control board chief executive office Siseho Simasiku said the current energy infrastructure determines the obtaining tariffs hence the need to constantly upgrade the existing infrastructure for a cost effective model. “We have issues with the pricing models which continue to affect of the end user. In terms of investing in new power generating plants, governments should court potential investors to ensure there are reduced power outages,” said Simasiku. Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority chief executive officer, Engineer Gloria Magombo said investing in renewable energy is critical considering there is an increasing demand for electricity in the rural areas. “Nationally, we are standing at an average of 37.5 per cent of electricity with the rural areas enjoying 13.3 per cent, while urban areas are at 85 percent, so it means there is need for more investment in renewable energy plants for the absorption in most rural areas,” said Engineer Magombo. During the two day conference participants, will deliberate on topics such as financing sustainable electrification programmes by multilateral financial institutions, and utilities’ perspective on the financing models among others. Zimbabwe is generating 1 394 megawatts. To meet industrial and domestic demand, the country needs to generate 2 300 megawatts.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:26:14 +0000
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