Over the last few decades, many African countries have faced an energy deficit and have been unable to cope with growing energy demands. This is why there are countries that have banded together in order to work together and supply their people with the energy they need to thrive. This is known as African Power Pools.

The African Power Pools refers to the Eastern Africa Power Pool, the Central African Power Pool, the Southern African Power Pool, the West African Power Pool and the Comité Maghrébin de l’Electricité.

The Central Africa Power Pool consists of the following nations:
Angola;
Burundi;
Cameroon;
Centrafrique;
Congo;
Gabon;
Equatorial Guinea;
R.D. Congo;
Sao Tomé & Principe; and
Tchad.

The Comité Maghrébin de l’Electricité consists of the following nations:
Algeria;
Libya;
Mauritania;
Morocco; and
Tunisia.

The Eastern Africa Power Pool consists of the following nations:
Burundi;
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC);
Egypt;
Ethiopia;
Kenya;
Libya;
Rwanda;
Sudan;
Tanzania; and
Uganda.

The Southern Africa Power Pool consists of the following nations:
Angola;
Botswana;
DRC;
Lesotho;
Malawi;
Mozambique;
Namibia;
South Africa;
Swaziland;
Tanzania;
Zambia; and
Zimbabwe.

The West Africa Power Pool consists of the following nations:
Benin;
Côte d’Ivoire;
Burkina Faso;
Gambia;
Ghana;
Guinea;
Guinea Bissau;
Liberia;
Mali;
Niger;
Nigeria;
Senegal;
Sierra Leone; and
Togo.

Challenges Faced By The Africa Power Pools
Most of the challenges faced by the African Power Pools, as detailed in the ICA’s Updated Regional Power Status In Africa Power Pools Report, are lack of infrastructure, lack of national strategies, and financial distress of utilities.

Lack of Infrastructure
According to the aforementioned report, “the need for infrastructure requires no over-emphasis as no power trade/exchange can take place without the necessary infrastructure in place.” However, we respectfully disagree with the above statement. With distributed power, electricity is generated at the location where it is needed. This can be the ultimate solution for each Power Pool’s problem, being a lack of infrastructure, since it will not require the same amount of financing nor the manpower needed to connect over great distances.

Lack Of National Strategies
Since “many countries still lack a comprehensive strategic framework in the context of national goals and objectives to help guide the roles and responsibilities for all players, including government utilities, the private sector, civil society and development organisations,” we at DPA have taken it upon ourselves to educate businesses on the benefits of going off the grid. The more organisations that will turn their premises into a powerhouse, the more we will alleviate the growing need for traditional means of energy generation as well as the point above: the need to build and maintain additional infrastructure. We not only educate businesses on the benefits, but we also go one step further and provide a way for businesses to go solar with 0% startup costs. Get in touch with us today if you want to take advantage of this exciting opportunity for your own organisation.

Financial Distress Of Utilities
The ICA mainly attributes this factor to below-cost tariffs, weak management, and political interference. While many people might think of renewable energy as an opposing force to the traditional means of generating power, we want to emphasise that we are still all in this together. Yes, it will be for the greater good of all mankind to completely remove fossil fuels from the equation and generate all the power we need from renewable sources, but this shift will not happen overnight and, with that in mind, we want to instead remove as much of the burden that utilities bear by introducing solar power wherever we can.

If you want to join in the revolution and help your communities who still rely on Africa Power Pools to have the electricity they need to thrive as well, consider switching your business over to solar power with our 0% startup option. Fill in the form for us to contact you here.