I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2548 

To establish a comprehensive United States Government policy to assist 

countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power 

solutions for more broadly distributed electricity access in order to support poverty alleviation and drive economic growth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2013 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Ms. 

BASS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a comprehensive United States Government policy to assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop 

an appropriate mix of power solutions for more broadly 

distributed electricity access in order to support poverty 

alleviation and drive economic growth, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electrify Africa Act 

3 of 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to improve access to af6 fordable, reliable electricity in Africa in order to unlock 

7 the potential for economic growth, job creation, food secu8 rity, improved health and education outcomes, and sus9 tainable poverty reduction. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds that— 

12 (1) 589,000,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa, 

13 or 68 percent of the population, do not have access 

14 to electricity, as of 2010; 

15 (2) electricity services are highly unreliable and 

16 remain at least twice as expensive compared to other 

17 emerging regions for the majority of people with ac18 cess to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa; 

19 (3) lack of access to electricity services dispro20 portionally affects women—who often shoulder the 

21 burden of seeking sources of heat and light such as 

22 dung, wood or charcoal and are often more exposed 

23 to the associated negative health impacts. Women 

24 and girls also face increase risks of assault from 

25 walking long distances to gather fuel sources; 


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1 (4) people without access to electricity are often 

2 trapped in subsistence lifestyles and are unable to 

3 work their way out of poverty; 

4 (5) a lack of electricity contributes to the high 

5 use of inefficient and often highly polluting fuel 

6 sources for indoor cooking, heating, and lighting 

7 that produce toxic fumes resulting in more than 

8 3,000,000 annual premature deaths from respiratory 

9 disease, more annual deaths than from HIV/AIDS 

10 and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa; 

11 (6) electricity access is crucial for the storage 

12 of vaccines and anti-retroviral and other lifesaving 

13 medical drugs, as well as the operation of modern 

14 lifesaving medical equipment; 

15 (7) electricity access can be used to improve 

16 food security by enabling post-harvest processing, 

17 pumping, irrigation, dry grain storage, milling, re18 frigeration, and other uses; 

19 (8) electricity access can provide improved 

20 lighting options, internet access, mobile phone 

21 charging, and other new information and commu22 nication technologies that can greatly improve health 

23 and education outcomes as well as commercial possi24 bilities; 


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1 (9) Africa’s consumer base of 1,000,000,000 

2 people is rapidly growing and will create increasing 

3 demand for United States goods, services, and tech4 nologies, but the current African electricity deficit 

5 limits this growth in demand by restricting economic 

6 growth on the continent; 

7 (10) approximately 30 African countries face 

8 endemic power shortages, and nearly 70 percent of 

9 surveyed African businesses cite unreliable power as 

10 a major constraint to growth; 

11 (11) the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s 

12 work in the energy sector shows high projected eco13 nomic rates of returns that translate to sustainable 

14 economic growth and that the highest returns are 

15 projected when infrastructure improvements are cou16 pled with significant legislative and regulatory and 

17 institutional policy reforms; 

18 (12) in some countries, regulatory bottlenecks 

19 and legal constraints stifle the ability of private in20 vestment to assist in the generation and distribution 

21 of electricity; and 

22 (13) without new policies and more effective in23 vestments in electricity sector enterprises to increase 

24 and expand electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, 

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1 cent of the total population, will remain without ac2 cess to electricity by 2030. 

3 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 

5 States, in consultation with sub-Saharan African govern6 ments, to— 

7 (1) encourage the installation of at least an ad8 ditional 20,000 megawatts of electrical power in sub9 Saharan Africa by 2020; 

10 (2) promote first-time access to electricity for 

11 at least 50,000,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa by 

12 2020 in both urban and rural areas; and 

13 (3) promote efficient institutional platforms to 

14 provide electrical service to rural and underserved 

15 areas. 

16 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTIYEAR 

17 STRATEGY. 

18 (a) STRATEGY.—The President shall establish a com19 prehensive, integrated, multiyear strategy to assist coun20 tries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix 

21 of power solutions, including renewable energy, to provide 

22 sufficient electricity access to people living in rural and 

23 urban areas in order to alleviate poverty and drive eco24 nomic growth. Such strategy shall maintain sufficient 


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1 flexibility and remain responsive to technological innova2 tion in the power sector. 

3 (b) REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 President shall transmit to the appropriate congres7 sional committees a report setting forth the strategy 

8 described in subsection (a). 

9 (2) REPORT CONTENTS.—The report required 

10 by paragraph (1) shall include a discussion of the 

11 elements described in paragraph (3), and should in12 clude a discussion of any additional elements rel13 evant to the strategy described in subsection (a). 

14 (3) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The elements re15 ferred to in paragraph (2) are the following: 

16 (A) The general and specific objectives of 

17 the strategy described in subsection (a), the cri18 teria for determining success of the strategy, 

19 and a description of the manner in which the 

20 strategy will increase production and improve 

21 access to electricity. 

22 (B) Development of plans and regulations 

23 at the national, regional, and local level to in24 crease power production, strengthen electrical 


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1 transmission and distribution infrastructure, 

2 and improve access to electricity. 

3 (C) Administration plans to increase access 

4 to electricity, including a description of how the 

5 strategy will address commercial and residential 

6 needs, as well as urban and rural access. 

7 (D) Administration strategy to reduce 

8 waste and improve existing power generation 

9 through the use of a broad power mix and use 

10 of a distributed generation model. 

11 (E) Administration policy on engaging and 

12 leveraging private sector resources and public 

13 sector financing. 

14 (F) A description of the strategy for the 

15 transfer of relevant technology and skills to 

16 local participation in the long-term maintenance 

17 and management of such investments to ensure 

18 power sector investments are sustainable, in19 cluding the details of the programs to be under20 taken to maximize United States contributions 

21 in the areas of technical assistance and train22 ing. 

23 (G) An identification of the relevant execu24 tive branch agencies that will be involved in car25 rying out the strategy, the level and distribution 


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1 of resources that will be dedicated on an annual 

2 basis among the such agencies, the assignment 

3 of priorities to such agencies, a description of 

4 the role of each agency, and the types of pro5 grams that each agency will be undertaking. 

6 (H) A description of the mechanisms that 

7 will be utilized to coordinate the efforts of the 

8 relevant executive branch agencies in carrying 

9 out the strategy to avoid duplication of efforts, 

10 enhance coordination, and ensure that each 

11 agency undertakes programs primarily in those 

12 areas where each such agency has the greatest 

13 expertise, technical capabilities, and potential 

14 for success. 

15 (I) A description of the mechanisms to be 

16 established for monitoring and evaluating in17 creased electricity access development, for 

18 learning and transmitting best practices among 

19 relevant executive branch agencies as well as 

20 among participating countries, and for termi21 nating unsuccessful programs. 

22 (J) A description of the engagement plan 

23 for working with local communities benefitting 

24 from the projects and affected by the projects 


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1 as well as the environment and social impacts 

2 of the projects. 

3 (K) A description of the mechanisms that 

4 will be utilized to ensure greater coordination 

5 between the United States and foreign govern6 ments, international organizations, African re7 gional economic communities, international fi8 nancial institutions, and private sector organi9 zations. 

10 (L) A description of how United States 

11 leadership will be used to enhance the overall 

12 international response to prioritizing electricity 

13 access for sub-Saharan Africa and to strength14 en coordination among relevant international 

15 forums such as the G8 and G20. 

16 (M) An outline of how the Administration 

17 intends to partner with foreign governments, 

18 the World Bank Group, the African Develop19 ment Bank Group, and the public sector to as20 sist sub-Saharan African countries to conduct 

21 project feasibility studies and facilitate project 

22 development. 

23 (N) A description of how the Administra24 tion intends to help facilitate transnational and 


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1 regional power and electrification projects 

2 where appropriate. 

3 SEC. 6. USAID. 

4 (a) LOAN GUARANTEES.—It is the sense of Congress 

5 that in pursuing the policy goals described in section 4, 

6 the Administrator of USAID should identify and 

7 prioritize— 

8 (1) where loan guarantees to local African fi9 nancial institutions would facilitate the involvement 

10 of such financial institutions in power projects in Af11 rica; and 

12 (2) where partnerships and grants for research, 

13 development, and deployment of technology would 

14 increase access to electricity in Africa. 

15 (b) GRANTS.—It is the sense of Congress that the 

16 Administrator of USAID, acting through USAID’s Bu17 reau for Africa and Economic Growth, Education and En18 vironment, should consider providing grants to— 

19 (1) develop national, regional, and local energy 

20 and electricity policy plans; 

21 (2) expand distribution of electricity access to 

22 the poorest; and 

23 (3) build a country’s capacity to monitor and 

24 regulate the energy and electricity sector. 


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1 (c) USAID DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘‘USAID’’ means the United States Agency for Inter3 national Development. 

4 SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. 

5 In pursuing the policy goals described in section 4, 

6 the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United 

7 States Executive Director at each institution in the World 

8 Bank Group and the African Development Bank to use 

9 the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to en10 courage each such entity to— 

11 (1) commit to significantly increase power sec12 tor and electrification investments in sub-Saharan 

13 Africa; 

14 (2) consider energy needs of individuals where 

15 access to an electricity grid is impractical or cost16 prohibitive; 

17 (3) enhance coordination with the private sector 

18 in sub-Saharan Africa to increase access to elec19 tricity; 

20 (4) provide technical assistance to the regu21 latory authorities of sub-Saharan African govern22 ments to remove unnecessary barriers to investment 

23 in commercially viable projects, reduce transmission 

24 and distribution losses, encourage end-use efficiency, 


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1 strengthen local markets, and unlock domestic in2 vestment in the power sector; and 

3 (5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 

4 targets to measure the effectiveness of such projects. 

5 SEC. 8. OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Overseas Private Investment 

7 Corporation should— 

8 (1) in carrying out its programs and pursuing 

9 the policy goals described in section 4, place a pri10 ority on supporting investment in the electricity sec11 tor of sub-Saharan Africa and implement procedures 

12 for expedited review of and, where appropriate, ap13 proval of, applications by eligible investors for loans, 

14 loan guarantees, and insurance for such investments; 

15 (2) to the extent permitted by its authorities, 

16 policies, and programs, support investments in 

17 projects that will— 

18 (A) maximize the number of people with 

19 new access to electricity to support economic 

20 development; 

21 (B) improve the transmission and distribu22 tion of electricity; 

23 (C) provide reliable and low-cost electricity 

24 to people living in rural and urban commu25 nities; 


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1 (D) consider energy needs of individuals 

2 where access to an electricity grid is impractical 

3 or cost-prohibitive; and 

4 (E) reduce transmission and distribution 

5 losses and improve end-use efficiency; 

6 (3) encourage small- and medium-sized enter7 prises and cooperative service providers to partici8 pate in investment activities in sub-Saharan Africa; 

9 and 

10 (4) publish measurable development impacts of 

11 its investments. 

12 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Title IV of chapter 2 of part I 

13 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended— 

14 (1) in section 233 (22 U.S.C. 2193)— 

15 (A) in subsection (b), by inserting after the 

16 sixth sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘Of 

17 the eight such Directors, not more than six 

18 should be of the same political party.’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

20 subsection: 

21 ‘‘(e) INVESTMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Board 

22 shall take prompt measures to increase the loan, guar23 antee, and insurance programs, and financial commit24 ments, of the Corporation in sub-Saharan Africa, includ25 ing through the use of an investment advisory council to 


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1 assist the Board in developing and implementing policies, 

2 programs, and financial instruments with respect to sub3 Saharan Africa. In addition, the investment advisory coun4 cil shall make recommendations to the Board on how the 

5 Corporation can facilitate greater support by the United 

6 States for trade and investment with and in sub-Saharan 

7 Africa. The investment advisory council shall terminate on 

8 December 31, 2017.’’; 

9 (2) in section 234(c) (22 U.S.C. 2194(c)), by 

10 inserting ‘‘eligible investors or’’ after ‘‘involve’’; 

11 (3) in section 235(a)(2) (22 U.S.C. 2195), by 

12 striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’; and 

13 (4) in section 239(e) (22 U.S.C. 2199(e)) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(e) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The Board shall ap16 point and maintain an Inspector General in the Corpora17 tion, in accordance with the Inspector General Act of 1978 

18 (5 U.S.C. App.).’’. 

19 (c) POLICY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Directors and 

21 President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation 

22 are hereby directed to issue policy guidance that permits 

23 significant investment in the electricity sector of the poor24 est and lowest pollution-emitting countries in a develop25 ment-driven and environmentally sensitive manner. 


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1 SEC. 9. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Trade and 

3 Development Agency should— 

4 (1) promote United States private sector par5 ticipation in energy sector development projects in 

6 sub-Saharan Africa through project preparation ac7 tivities, including feasibility studies, technical assist8 ance, pilot projects, reverse trade missions, con9 ferences and workshops; and 

10 (2) seek opportunities to fund project prepara11 tion activities that involve increased access to elec12 tricity, including power generation and trade capac13 ity building. 

14 (b) FOCUS.—In pursuing the policy goals described 

15 in section 4, project preparation activities described in 

16 subsection (a) should focus on power generation using 

17 clean energy sources, improving the efficiency of trans18 mission and distribution grids, including on-grid, off-grid 

19 and mini-grid solutions, and promoting energy efficiency 

20 and demand-side management. 

21 SEC. 10. PROGRESS REPORT. 

22 Not later than three years after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com24 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

25 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 


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1 a report on progress made toward achieving the policy 

2 goals described in section 4, including the following: 

3 (1) The number and type of policy and legisla4 tive changes implemented in partner countries to 

5 support increased electricity generation and access 

6 since United States engagement. 

7 (2) A list of power sector and electrification 

8 projects United States Government instruments are 

9 supporting to achieve the policy goals described in 

10 section 4, and for each such project— 

11 (A) a description of how each such project 

12 fits into the national power plans of the partner 

13 country; 

14 (B) the total cost of each such project and 

15 predicted United States Government contribu16 tions to such projects broken down by United 

17 States Government funding source, including 

18 from the Overseas Private Investment Corpora19 tion, the United States Agency for International 

20 Development, the Department of the Treasury, 

21 and other appropriate United States Govern22 ment departments and agencies; 

23 (C) the amount of actual United States 

24 Government financing provided to such 

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1 ment funding source, including from the Over2 seas Private Investment Corporation, the 

3 United States Agency for International Devel4 opment, the Department of the Treasury, and 

5 other appropriate United States Government 

6 departments and agencies; 

7 (D) the predicted electrical power capacity 

8 in megawatts of each project upon completion; 

9 (E) expected environmental and social im10 pacts from each project; 

11 (F) the number of individuals, businesses, 

12 schools, and health facilities that have gained 

13 electricity connections as a result of each 

14 project at the time of such report; 

15 (G) the predicted number of individuals 

16 gaining electricity connections as a result of 

17 each project upon completion; and 

18 (H) the current operating electrical power 

19 capacity in megawatts of each project. 

Æ 


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