Transforming utility systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key takeaways from the West Africa Utilities Roundtable

The West Africa Utilities Roundtable identified four primary obstacles to establishing reliable, low-carbon energy systems in the region: energy system inefficiencies (technical and commercial losses), challenges in integrating variable renewables energy (VRE), lack of financial sustainability, and aging infrastructure. To address these, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is conducting research on the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) across 48 African countries to attract investment and reviewing energy transition models to ensure a broader range of technologies and socio-economic factors are considered in Africa-focused research.

• West African utilities face significant energy system inefficiencies through technical losses in transmission and distribution and commercial losses from non-payment, which hinder investments in clean grids and can increase fossil-fuel reliance.
• Integrating variable renewables energy (VRE) like wind and solar can improve energy security and reduce fossil fuel use, but requires advanced grid management, storage solutions, and expanded transmission to manage intermittency.
• Financial sustainability is a major hurdle as many utilities cannot cover operational costs, necessitating new tariff structures and financing models to attract investment while maintaining affordability.
• CATF is researching the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for 48 African countries and five sub-regional groupings to help stakeholders create policies that encourage power sector investment.
• A systematic review of model-based analysis on Africa's energy transition revealed that global climate technologies such as nuclear, geothermal, and carbon capture, as well as full socio-economic transition costs, are often omitted from Africa-focused research.

APA

Mukhaya, B. (2024). Transforming utility systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key takeaways from the West Africa Utilities Roundtable. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2024/09/transforming-utility-systems-sub-saharan-africa-key-takeaways-west-africa-utilities-roundtable/

Chicago

Mukhaya, Brian. Transforming utility systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key takeaways from the West Africa Utilities Roundtable. Clean Air Task Force, 2024. https://www.catf.us/2024/09/transforming-utility-systems-sub-saharan-africa-key-takeaways-west-africa-utilities-roundtable/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mukhaya |first1=Brian |title=Transforming utility systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key takeaways from the West Africa Utilities Roundtable |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=19 September 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/2024/09/transforming-utility-systems-sub-saharan-africa-key-takeaways-west-africa-utilities-roundtable/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mukhaya2024transforming, author = {Mukhaya, Brian}, title = {{Transforming utility systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key takeaways from the West Africa Utilities Roundtable}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.catf.us/2024/09/transforming-utility-systems-sub-saharan-africa-key-takeaways-west-africa-utilities-roundtable/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }