In sub-Saharan Africa, 30 out of 48 countries experience daily power outages. These cost more than 5% of GDP in Malawi, Uganda and South Africa, and 1-5% in Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania
Diesel generation are used to overcome outages and more than 50% of power generation capacity in countries, such as the Democratic Replublic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania, and 17% in West Africa is based on diesel fuel. The resulting generation cost can easily run to USD 400 per MWh
Africa spends about USD 10 bn per year on the power sector: USD 2.27 bn for grid extension, USD 4.59 bn for grid supply, USD 1.37 bn for off-grid renewable electricity, USD 1.07 bn for policy/regulation and USD 0.76 bn for efficient use of electricity
What would be needed is an investment of USD 40.6bn per year, consisting of USD 26.6 bn capitial expenditure and USD 14.0 bn operation and maintenance
