Ep.14: Dr. Victoria Nalule on African Energy Economics
Channel: HSCF
Date: 2021-05-07

#SmartCity #CityCouncil #Municipality

An accomplished author and advisor in Africa's energy and extractives sectors, Dr. Victoria Nalule joins us for a discussion on the state of Africa's energy economy.  Her clientele ranges from governments to higher education across Africa and Western Europe.  Tieho and Victoria's conversation begins with traversals between macro and micro views of Africa's energy landscape.  Some important points are made to address Africa's uniqueness not only in geography but most importantly as a multiplicity of jurisdictions and other economic constraints.  Victoria then brings to light the current energy mix in most African communities (outside of major cities) which essentially constitute the majority.  This energy mix is very much anchored in the biomass spectrum, gas, paraffin and candles.  All carbon emitting energy sources.  One major problem with Africa's energy supply dynamics is the funding gap; a point Tieho brings to the fore.  Victoria on the other hand suggests that there is not much consumer affordability to support the demand-side dynamic.  She further states that most peri-urban and rural communities around the world suffer from low income.  This is a truth that she says can be observed even in poor communities as far as the United Kingdom where a significant number of households still struggle to pay their electricity bills.  Planning and maintenance of Africa's energy infrastructure are also highlighted as areas of high importance for sustainable growth.  Tieho and Victoria reach a consensus that Africa's bulging youth demographic and rapid urbanization are a clear signal of unprecedented energy demand and thus the steepness of Africa's energy demand curve is likely to significantly overshadow clean energy's price/performance thus implying that Africa's foreseeable future will still be heavily supported by a carbon intensive energy mix.  They also suggest that strategic emissions policies (and Regionalism treaties) be explored and re-enforced to navigate this challenging future.