Eswatini currently sits at 83% electricity access, while overall the rest of the African continent only has 40% access to electricity. UNDP Eswatini says that the recently piloted minigrids in the country have been identified as part of the solution to ease the growing electricity demand, and at the same time contribute to the quest for having energy that is clean and affordable.
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By Ntokozo Nkambule
The Kingdom of Eswatini is way ahead of a number of countries in the region and on the continent in terms of electricity access. This was disclosed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Eswatini Deputy Resident Representative, Ms. Jane O. Yeboah during the official launch of the Africa Minigrids Program in Eswatini.
The UNDP Eswatini Deputy Resident Representative said the country’s 83% electricity access is close to excellent by African standards. She said the outstanding 17% can be realistically achieved by the year 2030. “Eswatini is close to being one of the few countries on the African continent to reach their target of universal electricity access. Over 640 million Africans have no access to energy, corresponding to an electricity access rate for African countries at about 40 percent, the lowest in the world, which shows that Eswatini is ahead” she said.
The Deputy Representative noted that the most important thing for the country was to have the right energy mix which is affordable to the ordinary Swati. She said the country is faced with two realities, the first one being the fact that coal-powered electricity in the country is increasingly expensive and the second being that importing electricity from neighbhouring South Africa is not sustainable in the long term.
Ms. Jane O. Yeboah added that the country should consider investing in clean and different energy sources. “Eswatini in its Private Action Plan through the Nationally-determined Contributions (NDC) committed to increasing the share of renewable energy to 50% in its energy mix by 2030, which is very commendable” she posited.
The Deputy Representative observed that Minigrids have been identified as part of the solution to ease the growing electricity demand, and at the same time contributing to the quest of having energy that is clean and affordable. She conceded that technological advancement has played a huge role in minigrids, however, they are not yet competitive with fossil fuel-based alternatives.
