Universal electricity access delayed

The promise of providing access to electricity to every Namibian by 2030 has been deferred to 2040, with the mammoth task proving just too big and expensive to complete in the next five years. This reality was confirmed at an electricity supply industry forum held in Otjiwarongo last year.The event was held under the theme ‘Delivering the promise: Using smart solutions in an AI-driven atmosphere to improve electricity access, affordability and utilities'.Abraham Hangula, deputy director for energy planning and research in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, spoke at the event and tried to put the promise into perspective. Even to reach the goal of universal access to electricity by 2040 is still a huge undertaking, he said.With about half of Namibian households connected to electricity supply by 2020, and taking into consideration population and demand growth since then, he estimated that the country will have to achieve 610 000 new connections to get everyone’s lights turned on. “We need to do 33 000 connections per annum. Our data shows that we currently connect between 2 000 and 4 000 a year, but we are using a manual outdated data system, and there is no data ecosystem, so we may be connecting between 7 000 to 8 000 a year,” he said.Robust evidenceAt around the same time, the ministry announced a comprehensive national energy and affordability study which took place between 7 October and 11 November 2024. The study was carried out countrywide in collaboration with the World Bank to secure evidence on which policies and programmes aimed at poverty reduction and expanding universal access to energy can be based.Assessments included household surveys to determine the affordability of energy access at the household level, as well as community and public institution surveys, which were also to provide details about schools and health facility access to electricity. Enterprise surveys evaluated electricity access in manufacturing, service and agro-processing businesses, while an off-grid solar market assessment was to give insight into supply and demand dynamics in the off-grid solar market.Field team members were identifiable through name tags and identifying letters which spell out their roles and the purpose of the exercise. Selected households were urged to participate and help ensure that the field teams can collect quality data by responding openly and honestly to questions asked.Difficult to deliverHowever, the lack of data is not the biggest challenge standing in the way of achieving the promise. Low population density, high connection costs and very high income inequality all contribute to difficulties with delivering on the promise.According to Hangula, the total electrification of all Namibian households would cost N$13 billion. “We need N$900 million per annum to reach that goal,” he said.One approach, which data and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) could help achieve, is to provide Namibians with different tiers of electricity connectivity, determined by their needs. Tier one connectivity would provide 22kWh for small households where there is no need for more electricity availability. “AI can help us identify those people,” he said. Tier two households would be connected to 224kWh supply, with tier three availed with 696kWh, 1 800kWh for tier four households, and tier five enjoying the maximum supply that the grid provides at 2 195kWh of electricity supply. According to him, the capacity on the ground - to connect more households to the national grid - will have to be scaled up over the coming five years, also to tackle the national issue of connecting peri-urban households. Some informal settlements feature densely populated areas, while in others, inhabitants are more spaced out, which influences costs of connections. For these inhabitants, almost N$2 billion is needed to connect their homes to the national grid, he explained.Nowhere closeFor the 2025/2026 financial year, the government plans to connect some 8 700 households at an average cost of N$25 000 per connection. “We need more money to reach those numbers. We are nowhere close to our goals,” he said.He suggested that government pays for up to 75% of electrification costs, while regional electricity distributors cover 20% and end-users contribute the difference. However, over the next five years, that would mean that end-users have to come up with N$41 million.Another solution may lie with off-grid electricity supply through solar. “Off-grid is a game changer. The issue is how do we do it? We want to learn from countries that have done it, like Kenya,” he said.Two-fold challengeEnergy minister Tom Alweendo also elaborated on the promise to electrify all structures in Namibia by 2040. “The challenge is two-fold. Firstly, we are not producing enough electricity and that gap is not being closed. Despite us producing more, the demand increases by the day,” he said. Secondly, many Namibians cannot afford the available electricity. “The majority of Namibians who need electricity may not be in a position to afford the electricity produced by the independent power producers,” the minister said.Furthermore, distribution infrastructure is needed to give access to electricity to those Namibians who need it. Even though Namibia’s grid network is ranked highly compared to neighbouring countries, it cannot provide the access needed the way it is today, he said.Alweendo added that Namibia’s network is not effective enough to be able to give the access needed by 2040, “even if we produce enough”. Grid extension is not necessarily the solution, he said. “I am happy to hear the government suggesting off-grid [solutions] as our country is vast."

Universal electricity access delayed

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Republikein 2025-04-16

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Universal electricity access delayed

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