TICADVI: The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development: Official Side Event
Electric Power Development in Africa
Geothermal development, power pool, capacity development of operation and maintenance
utilizing the Internet of Things
On August 25, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held a special seminar titled
“Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy” with various partners from the
public and private sectors at the Sarova Panafric Hotel in Nairobi.
In this seminar, Mr. Charles Keter, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of
Kenya, took the rostrum as a keynote speaker, and Mr. Asahiko Mihara and Mr. Daishiro
Yamagiwa, who are members of both the House of Representatives in Japan and the Japan-AU
Parliamentary Friendship Association, delivered special messages to encourage African countries
and their partners to work hand-in-hand toward the achievement of Sustainable Development
Goal 7 (SDG7). As invited speakers, the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), Kyushu
University, JGC Corporation and Toshiba Corporation (the latter two being members of the Japan
Electrical Manufacturers’ Association, or JEMA) presented their ideas and actions they have taken
related to SDG7 in Africa, providing viewpoints of the public sector, the private sector and
academia. The World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and USAID—as co-organizers
of this seminar together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and JICA—each introduced
its own initiatives and activities being implemented toward achieving SDG7.
The electrification rate in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is only around 30 percent, and the
approximately 600 million people there without electricity access accounts for about half of the
total population in the world without electricity. It is predicted that approximately one billion people
could have electricity access by 2040, but even with such progress, nearly 400 million people may
still be left without electricity due to a rapid population growth rate exceeding the pace of
electrification. Even in electrified urban and surrounding areas, however, there are power outages
that last about an hour a day, and business consumers of electricity must therefore resort to
expensive backup diesel generators and fuels to maintain their business activities. According to an
analysis, the lack of a stable supply of electricity causes an annual sales loss of five percent. With
the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 in the 21st Session of the Conference of
the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, improvements to
electricity access and the stable supply of power in Africa must be achieved while curbing
greenhouse gas emissions. Doing so is at the essence of SDG7.
A number of salient points were made by the participants. For example, some seminar speakers
pointed out that: (1) Africa has an abundance of potential hydro and geothermal energy sources
which should be developed as renewable energy. Other speakers noted that: (2) the power-pool
initiative is an essential approach for developing electricity in Africa, where the average power
generation capacity in each country is generally no more than a mere 1,000 megawatts, and
should include strengthening domestic and international transmission networks to utilize
inexpensive renewable energy power sources within each region. Another important point made
by a number of speakers was: (3) human resource development is essentially for ensuring electric
power facilities are operated and maintained appropriately. In the seminar, participants witnessed
signing ceremony of “MOU of Cooperation between the USA and Japan for Reducing Energy
Poverty and Increasing Access to Sustainable Energy in Africa”.
Although SDG7 will not be easy to achieve in Africa, the participants generally agreed that every
effort must be made to do so. A wide range of measures must be implemented in those efforts,
including, for example, financial mobilization, promoting technological innovation, improving legal
frameworks and developing new business models to attract the interest of the private sector. To
carry out such measures, collaboration is needed by all the stakeholders, including the public
sector, the private sector, academia, donor organizations and civil society. JICA noted that, with
this understanding, it will do its best to provide assistance for the development of renewable
energy, power pools and human resources in the power sector for years to come.
Speakers (in order of presentation)
・ Okada, Seiji, Ambassador for TICAD, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
・ Keter, Charles, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Kenya
・ Njagi, Laurencia K., Senior Energy Specialist, Energy & Extractives, World Bank
・ Kamiishi, Hiroto, Director, Energy and Mining Group, JICA
・ Mhaiki, Decklan, Deputy Managing Director, TANESCO
・ Etim, Linda, Assistant Administrator for Africa, USAID
・ Diallo, Kodeidja Malle, Director, Private Sector Department, AfDB
・ Yamada, Shoji, Associate Executive Officer and General Manager, Africa Sales
Department, JGC Corporation (JEMA)
・ Higashizawa, Tom, Senior Manager, Thermal Power Global Sales Department 3, Toshiba
Corporation (JEMA)
・ Fujimitsu, Yasuhiro, Department of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyushu University
・ Mihara, Asahiko, Member of the House of Representatives and Acting Secretary-General,
Japan-AU Parliamentary Friendship Association
・ Yamagiwa, Daishiro, Member of the House of Representatives and Chief-Secretary,
Japan-African Union Parliamentary Friendship Association
・ Tomiyoshi, Kenichi, Vice-President, JICA
Signing of MOU