Africa: Impact of COVID-19 – The continent in search of energy for recovery

Take stock of the effects of Covid-19 and its economic repercussions on the energy sector in Africa and explore the vital role of energy investments in the economic recovery of Africa.

These are, among others, the objectives of the ministerial round table organized on Tuesday by videoconference on the initiative of the International Energy Agency (IAE) and the Senegalese Ministry of Petroleum and Energies.

The Covid-19 pandemic has finished deregulating the global economy, particularly the energy sector in Africa. The immediate impacts are varied.

For some, the availability, security and reliability of electrical systems jeopardize an effective response to the health crisis, emphasizing once again the importance of universal access to energy.

The resulting containment policies and the drop in energy demand are increasing the pressure on the power grids, calling into question the financial health of state utilities which were already in financial difficulty.

And for others, the disruption of global oil and gas markets has resulted in a sudden and marked decline in export revenue flows. The resulting financial constraints mean that new investments may be delayed or canceled.

These conditions of uncertainty create risks and competition to tighten funding, with potential longer-term security and sustainability challenges.

In short, the upheavals linked to the Covid-19 risk jeopardizing a little more the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals aiming in particular to guarantee access for all to reliable, sustainable and modern energy services, at a cost. affordable (Odd7).

Faced with this risk, the International Energy Agency (AIE) and the Government of Senegal organized a ministerial round table by videoconference on June 30, bringing together some twenty energy ministers and heads of international institutions , for a cross analysis on the challenges and opportunities for the energy sector.

“To support Africa’s economic transformation and ensure access to energy for all, we must ensure that energy investments in Africa remain a priority,” said IAEA executive director Fatih Birol. .

The objective is “to avoid an irreversible impact on a sector which requires very heavy investments”, added Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, Minister of Petroleum and Energies of Senegal.

Four major challenges emerged from the discussions: mobilizing and securing the weakened private investment today in many countries; work towards greater energy efficiency and regionalization of energy policies (integration of African economies and energy networks), as well as financial (carbon tax) and technological innovation.

The views shared during this ministerial round table on Africa will feed into the strengthened work of IAE with African partners as well as the summit on clean energy transitions to be held on July 9, 2020.

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