1.
Africa’s
Challenge:
Extended
Power
Outages
Solu;on:
rehabilita;on
of
“aged”
power
plants
Sevgi
Ceyda
Şairoglu
Sabanci
University
TURKEY
30
November
2011

2. Power outages - why important?
— Power outage à interruption of normal sources of electrical
power
— Electrical power à transportation, cooking, communication,
heating, air-conditioning, and lighting
Power outages often accompany other types of disasters
—
à floods, hurricanes
— Notable power outages:
- 1977 NY City blackout
- 2005 Java, Bali blackout à affected 100milion people
- 2009 Brazil&Paraguay blackout àaffected 60 million people
Let’s consider another type of power outage that African nations might
face in the next decades à need to take action NOW!

3. Worlwide
Energy
Consumption…
We
are
facing
(and
will
be
facing
more
in
the
future)
a
more
serious
threat
in
Sub
Saharan
Africa
related
to
electricity
and
power
outages

4. Table
1.
World
Electrifica2on
Rates
Urban
Rural
Electrifica;on
rate
(%)
Electrifica;on
rate
(%)
Electrifica;on
rate
(%)
Africa
41.9
68.9 25.0
North
Africa
99.0
99.6
98.4
Sub
Saharan
Africa
30.5
59.9
14.3
(SSA)
Developing
Asia
78.1
93.9
68.8
TransiLon
Economies
&OECD
99.8
100.0
99.5
World
78.9
93.6
65.1
Pay
special
aVen;on
to
figures
given
for
Sub
Saharan
Africa…
and
for
a
moment
imagine
a
day
without
electricity
(no
TV,
internet,
mobile
phone,
modern
cooking
faciliLes,
heaLng…).
Imagine
a
year
without
electricity…
Imagine
your
whole
life
burst
into
darkness…

5. A
man
made
disaster
threatening
SSA:
Power
outages
OUen
the
popula;on
that
has
access
to
electricity
suffers
from
poor
supply
quality
Frequent
power
blackouts
Table
2:
Electricity
Average
number
of
days
of
supply
Outages
of
firms
in
Africa
interrup;ons
per
year,
2000-­‐2005
Eritrea
93.9
Kenya
83.6
Madagascar
78.0
Uganda
70.8
Tanzania
60.6
Source:
Mangwende
and
Wamukonya
(2007)

6. Power
outages
in
SSA
create
one
of
the
worst
types
of
poverty
“Energy
poverty”
DefiniLon:lack
of
sufficient
choice
that
would
give
access
to
adequate,
affordable,
effec;ve,
and
environmentally
sustainable
energy
services
that
support
economic
and
human
development.
Source:
East
African
Community’s
report
“Strategy
on
Scaling
Up
Access
to
Modern
Energy
Services”

7. Table
3:
Electric
power
transmission
and
distribu3on
losses
(%of
output)
in
African
countries
1970-­‐2001
1970
1980
1990
2000
2001
Algeria
10.7
11.7
15.1
16.3
15.7
Cameroon
5.2
7.6
13.9
25.7
14.5
Congo
4.5
31.0
18.8
65.3
69.5
Egypt
9.8
12.9
10.1
13.4
13.4
Ethiopia
6.9
5.4
10.0
10.0
10.0
Gabon
1.8
0.8
10.2
17.8
17.8
Ghana
6.1
4.7
8.6
14.7
24.0
Kenya
17.9
14.6
15.7
21.3
21.0
Nigeria
13.2
49.3
37.6
38.7
37.8
Tanzania
13.6
12.1
21.6
25.0
23.5
Zimbabwe
6.1
10.3
7.1
21.3
21.4
7

8. • Electric
power
transmission
and
distribuLon
losses
are
largely
due
to
inefficiency
à
the
losses
have
increased
between
1970
and
2001!
• Significant
amount
of
power
plants
in
SSA
are
built
in
1960s
&
1970s
older
than
40
years
• Turkey’s
General
Manager
of
Power
GeneraLon
Joint
Stock
Company
quotes
“the
average
age
of
a
power
plant
is
normally
25-­‐30
years
and
rehabilitaLon
projects
-­‐to
improve
the
declining
capacity
and
to
render
them
for
a
reliable
producLon-­‐
must
take
place
in
aging
power
plants.”
• Although
there
are
iniLaLves
towards
increasing
energy
access
in
SSA
(especially
in
rural
areas)
there
is
no
project
aiming
to
increase
energy
efficiency
and
upgrade
“old”
power
plants.

9. How
to
prevent
the
disaster
and
save
SSA?
• Rehabilita;on
programs
à
aiming
to
increase
the
producLon
capacity
and
to
raise
efficiency
• Aging
faciliLes
are
no
longer
able
to
operate
at
full
capacity
due
to
obsolete
equipment.
It
is
the
case
that
“insufficient
maintenance
and
lack
of
modernizaLon
plague
Africa’s
electricity
infrastructure”
• “Aged”
power
plants
need
to
be
refurbished
to
be
efficient
à
so
we
can
ease
the
electricity
outage
problems
in
SSA

10. Achievable
solu;on
&
posi;ve
outcomes:
Turkey’s
case:
A
major
rehabilitaLon
program
started
in
2005
in
Turkey
in
the
thermal
and
hydraulic
power
plants
that
used
to
operate
for
more
than
28
years.
The
program
aimed
to
increase
the
producLon
capacity
and
to
raise
efficiency
by
using
new
technologies.
à
why
not
do
this
in
SSA
before
the
conLnent
bursts
into
darkness?
Outcomes:
1. African
economies
can
achieve
higher
poten;als
of
their
economies
à
rise
in
producLvity,
efficiency,
and
human
capital
2. EssenLal
step
towards
achieving
key
targets
of
the
UN
Millennium
Development
Goals
à
“Modern
energy
can
directly
reduce
poverty
by
raising
a
poor
country’s
producLvity
and
extending
the
quality
and
range
of
its
products-­‐
thereby
pumng
more
wages
in
the
pockets
of
the
deprives”
(IEA,
2002)