Mozambique: Country wants private operators for rural electricity mini-grids

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Mozambique: Country wants private operators for rural electricity mini-grids

9:19 CAT | 18 Dec 2019

File photo: Lusa

The Energy Fund in Mozambique (FUNAE) on Monday expressed its intention to involve the private sector in the supply of energy, a strategy to make the plans to expand the electricity network in the country more flexible.

“What we would like is for Mozambique’s Electricity to reach all parts of the country, but Mozambique is vast and sparsely populated. There is a need to find other solutions and, in this context, with small mini-grids, we may have private companies operating,” said António Saíde, chairman of FUNAE, at a conference in Maputo.

The government plans to give concessions for the creation, management and commercialisation of energy through mini-grids, mainly in remote areas, as part of legislative reforms that have been carried out in the energy sector since November in Mozambique.

The private sector will be the strategic partner that could accelerate the contribution of the electrification process in the country.

Under this plan, the Mozambican government is committed to creating financing conditions to attract energy entrepreneurs to more remote areas of the country.

The Mozambican grid has been managed by the Mozambique Electricity Company (EDM) since the country’s independence in 1975.

It is estimated that 32% of people have access to the electricity grid in Mozambique, a country with about 28 million inhabitants, according to the latest population census (2017).

Source: Lusa