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Energy sector needs considerable investment

2016-10-19  Staff Report 2

Energy sector needs considerable investment
Swakopmund Namibia as a net importer of most forms of energy will need considerable local investment to reduce the strategic risk of dependency. Currently Namibia’s energy consumption is dominated by the country’s vehicle fleet, which uses about 90 percent of all imported fossil fuels each year. The electricity sector and household consumption account for more than 60 percent of total use, while mining and commercial users each consume some 20 percent of the total annual electricity supply. This was said by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Obed Kandjoze, during the opening of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) meeting that concluded on Friday in Swakopmund. SAPP is a cooperation of the national electricity companies in southern Africa under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The members of SAPP have created a common power grid between their countries and a common market for electricity in the SADC region. SAPP was founded in 1995 and has 12 member states. The meeting was attended by various national power utilities and stakeholders of SAPP member states. The purpose of the meeting was to align the SADC regional grouping to embrace and encourage dialogue in the spirit of mutual understanding in the power sector and to commit stakeholders to their government’s effort to the energy sector in SADC. According to Kandjoze, to reduce the strategic risks involved in importing energy, it is imperative that the to be developed National Energy Policy is sufficiently pragmatic and goal-oriented to attract much-needed investments in the sector, both from the private sector as well as government. “Namibia is endowed with significant primary energy resources including natural gas, solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, wave, tidal and uranium. At the same time, the country remains fully dependent on the import of fossil fuels and more than one-half of its annual electricity requirements,” the minister explained. Kandjoze added that access to affordable energy remains a major economic empowerment challenge as cost increases and low energy access rates continue to limit meaningful economic participation of the majority of Namibians. “Government with the development of the National Energy Policy is ambitious to introduce a broad range of reforms that are aimed to achieve longterm economic empowerment, sustainable growth and national development. Energy-related developments, such as the recently completed National Integrated Resource Plan, the development of the Renewable Energy Policy, and the  transformation of the Electricity Control Board into the country’s Energy Regulatory Authority are parallel processes that have an important influence on the National Energy Policy,” the minister explained.
2016-10-19  Staff Report 2

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