IC 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2152 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 18, 2015 

Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

AN ACT 

To establish a comprehensive United States Government policy to encourage the efforts of countries in sub-Saharan 

Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power solutions, 

including renewable energy, for more broadly distributed 

electricity access in order to support poverty reduction, 

promote development outcomes, and drive economic 

growth, and for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to encourage the efforts 

8 of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to improve access to 

9 affordable and reliable electricity in Africa in order to 

10 unlock the potential for inclusive economic growth, job cre11 ation, food security, improved health, education, and envi12 ronmental outcomes, and poverty reduction. 

13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 It is the policy of the United States to partner, con15 sult, and coordinate with the governments of sub-Saharan 

16 African countries, international financial institutions, and 

17 African regional economic communities, cooperatives, and 

18 the private sector, in a concerted effort to— 

19 (1) promote first-time access to power and 

20 power services for at least 50,000,000 people in sub21 Saharan Africa by 2020 in both urban and rural 

22 areas; 

23 (2) encourage the installation of at least 20,000 

24 additional megawatts of electrical power in sub-Sa25 haran Africa by 2020 using a broad mix of energy 


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1 options to help reduce poverty, promote sustainable 

2 development, and drive inclusive economic growth; 

3 (3) promote non-discriminatory reliable, afford4 able, and sustainable power in urban areas (includ5 ing small urban areas) to promote economic growth 

6 and job creation; 

7 (4) promote policies to facilitate public-private 

8 partnerships to provide non-discriminatory reliable, 

9 sustainable, and affordable electrical service to rural 

10 and underserved populations; 

11 (5) encourage the necessary in-country reforms, 

12 including facilitating public-private partnerships spe13 cifically to support electricity access projects to 

14 make such expansion of power access possible; 

15 (6) promote reforms of power production, deliv16 ery, and pricing, as well as regulatory reforms and 

17 transparency, to support long-term, market-based 

18 power generation and distribution; 

19 (7) promote policies to displace kerosene light20 ing with other technologies; 

21 (8) promote an all-of-the-above energy develop22 ment strategy for sub-Saharan Africa that includes 

23 the use of oil, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric, wind, 

24 solar, and geothermal power, and other sources of 

25 energy; and 


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1 (9) promote and increase the use of private fi2 nancing and seek ways to remove barriers to private 

3 financing and assistance for projects, including 

4 through charitable organizations. 

5 SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE, MULTIYEAR 

6 STRATEGY. 

7 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

9 a comprehensive, integrated, multiyear strategy to 

10 encourage the efforts of countries in sub-Saharan 

11 Africa to implement national power strategies and 

12 develop an appropriate mix of power solutions to 

13 provide access to sufficient reliable, affordable, and 

14 sustainable power in order to reduce poverty and 

15 drive economic growth and job creation consistent 

16 with the policy stated in section 3. 

17 (2) FLEXIBILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS.—The 

18 President shall ensure that the strategy required 

19 under paragraph (1) maintains sufficient flexibility 

20 for and remains responsive to concerns and interests 

21 of affected local communities and technological inno22 vation in the power sector. 

23 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

25 shall transmit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 


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1 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives a report that contains the strat3 egy required under subsection (a) and includes a discus4 sion of the following elements: 

5 (1) The objectives of the strategy and the cri6 teria for determining the success of the strategy. 

7 (2) A general description of efforts in sub-Saha8 ran Africa to— 

9 (A) increase power production; 

10 (B) strengthen electrical transmission and 

11 distribution infrastructure; 

12 (C) provide for regulatory reform and 

13 transparent and accountable governance and 

14 oversight; 

15 (D) improve the reliability of power; 

16 (E) maintain the affordability of power; 

17 (F) maximize the financial sustainability of 

18 the power sector; and 

19 (G) improve non-discriminatory access to 

20 power that is done in consultation with affected 

21 communities. 

22 (3) A description of plans to support efforts of 

23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to increase access to 

24 power in urban and rural areas, including a descripVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 21, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2152.RFH S2152

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1 tion of plans designed to address commercial, indus2 trial, and residential needs. 

3 (4) A description of plans to support efforts to 

4 reduce waste and corruption, ensure local commu5 nity consultation, and improve existing power gen6 eration through the use of a broad power mix, in7 cluding fossil fuel and renewable energy, distributed 

8 generation models, energy efficiency, and other tech9 nological innovations, as appropriate. 

10 (5) An analysis of existing mechanisms for en11 suring, and recommendations to promote— 

12 (A) commercial cost recovery; 

13 (B) commercialization of electric service 

14 through distribution service providers, including 

15 cooperatives, to consumers; 

16 (C) improvements in revenue cycle man17 agement, power pricing, and fees assessed for 

18 service contracts and connections; 

19 (D) reductions in technical losses and com20 mercial losses; and 

21 (E) non-discriminatory access to power, in22 cluding recommendations on the creation of new 

23 service provider models that mobilize commu24 nity participation in the provision of power 

25 services. 


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1 (6) A description of the reforms being under2 taken or planned by countries in sub-Saharan Africa 

3 to ensure the long-term economic viability of power 

4 projects and to increase access to power, including— 

5 (A) reforms designed to allow third parties 

6 to connect power generation to the grid; 

7 (B) policies to ensure there is a viable and 

8 independent utility regulator; 

9 (C) strategies to ensure utilities become or 

10 remain creditworthy; 

11 (D) regulations that permit the participa12 tion of independent power producers and pri13 vate-public partnerships; 

14 (E) policies that encourage private sector 

15 and cooperative investment in power generation; 

16 (F) policies that ensure compensation for 

17 power provided to the electrical grid by on-site 

18 producers; 

19 (G) policies to unbundle power services; 

20 (H) regulations to eliminate conflicts of in21 terest in the utility sector; 

22 (I) efforts to develop standardized power 

23 purchase agreements and other contracts to 

24 streamline project development; 


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1 (J) efforts to negotiate and monitor com2 pliance with power purchase agreements and 

3 other contracts entered into with the private 

4 sector; and 

5 (K) policies that promote local community 

6 consultation with respect to the development of 

7 power generation and transmission projects. 

8 (7) A description of plans to ensure meaningful 

9 local consultation, as appropriate, in the planning, 

10 long-term maintenance, and management of invest11 ments designed to increase access to power in sub12 Saharan Africa. 

13 (8) A description of the mechanisms to be es14 tablished for— 

15 (A) selection of partner countries for fo16 cused engagement on the power sector; 

17 (B) monitoring and evaluating increased 

18 access to, and reliability and affordability of, 

19 power in sub-Saharan Africa; 

20 (C) maximizing the financial sustainability 

21 of power generation, transmission, and distribu22 tion in sub-Saharan Africa; 

23 (D) establishing metrics to demonstrate 

24 progress on meeting goals relating to access to 


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1 power, power generation, and distribution in 

2 sub-Saharan Africa; and 

3 (E) terminating unsuccessful programs. 

4 (9) A description of how the President intends 

5 to promote trade in electrical equipment with coun6 tries in sub-Saharan Africa, including a description 

7 of how the government of each country receiving as8 sistance pursuant to the strategy— 

9 (A) plans to lower or eliminate import tar10 iffs or other taxes for energy and other power 

11 production and distribution technologies des12 tined for sub-Saharan Africa, including equip13 ment used to provide energy access, including 

14 solar lanterns, solar home systems, and micro 

15 and mini grids; and 

16 (B) plans to protect the intellectual prop17 erty of companies designing and manufacturing 

18 products that can be used to provide energy ac19 cess in sub-Saharan Africa. 

20 (10) A description of how the President intends 

21 to encourage the growth of distributed renewable en22 ergy markets in sub-Saharan Africa, including off23 grid lighting and power, that includes— 

24 (A) an analysis of the state of distributed 

25 renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa; 


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1 (B) a description of market barriers to the 

2 deployment of distributed renewable energy 

3 technologies both on- and off-grid in sub-Saha4 ran Africa; 

5 (C) an analysis of the efficacy of efforts by 

6 the Overseas Private Investment Corporation 

7 and the United States Agency for International 

8 Development to facilitate the financing of the 

9 importation, distribution, sale, leasing, or mar10 keting of distributed renewable energy tech11 nologies; and 

12 (D) a description of how bolstering distrib13 uted renewable energy can enhance the overall 

14 effort to increase power access in sub-Saharan 

15 Africa. 

16 (11) A description of plans to ensure that small 

17 and medium enterprises based in sub-Saharan Africa 

18 can fairly compete for energy development and en19 ergy access opportunities associated with this Act. 

20 (12) A description of how United States invest21 ments to increase access to energy in sub-Saharan 

22 Africa may reduce the need for foreign aid and de23 velopment assistance in the future. 

24 (13) A description of policies or regulations, 

25 both domestically and internationally, that create 


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1 barriers to private financing of the projects under2 taken in this Act. 

3 (14) A description of the specific national secu4 rity benefits to the United States that will be de5 rived from increased energy access in sub-Saharan 

6 Africa. 

7 (c) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, as ap9 propriate, establish an Interagency Working Group 

10 to coordinate the activities of relevant United States 

11 Government departments and agencies involved in 

12 carrying out the strategy required under this sec13 tion. 

14 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Interagency Working 

15 Group may, among other things— 

16 (A) seek to coordinate the activities of the 

17 United States Government departments and 

18 agencies involved in implementing the strategy 

19 required under this section; 

20 (B) ensure efficient and effective coordina21 tion between participating departments and 

22 agencies; and 

23 (C) facilitate information sharing, and co24 ordinate partnerships between the United 

25 States Government, the private sector, and 


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1 other development partners to achieve the goals 

2 of the strategy. 

3 SEC. 5. PRIORITIZATION OF EFFORTS AND ASSISTANCE 

4 FOR POWER PROJECTS IN SUB-SAHARAN AF5 RICA BY KEY UNITED STATES INSTITUTIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In pursuing the policy goals de7 scribed in section 3, the Administrator of the United 

8 States Agency for International Development, the Director 

9 of the Trade and Development Agency, the Overseas Pri10 vate Investment Corporation, and the Chief Executive Of11 ficer and Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge 

12 Corporation should, as appropriate, prioritize and expedite 

13 institutional efforts and assistance to facilitate the involve14 ment of such institutions in power projects and markets, 

15 both on- and off-grid, in sub-Saharan Africa and partner 

16 with other investors and local institutions in sub-Saharan 

17 Africa, including private sector actors, to specifically in18 crease access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power 

19 in sub-Saharan Africa, including through— 

20 (1) maximizing the number of people with new 

21 access to power and power services; 

22 (2) improving and expanding the generation, 

23 transmission and distribution of power; 

24 (3) providing reliable power to people and busi25 nesses in urban and rural communities; 


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1 (4) addressing the energy needs of marginalized 

2 people living in areas where there is little or no ac3 cess to a power grid and developing plans to system4 atically increase coverage in rural areas; 

5 (5) reducing transmission and distribution 

6 losses and improving end-use efficiency and demand7 side management; 

8 (6) reducing energy-related impediments to 

9 business productivity and investment; and 

10 (7) building the capacity of countries in sub-Sa11 haran Africa to monitor and appropriately and 

12 transparently regulate the power sector and encour13 age private investment in power production and dis14 tribution. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVENESS MEASUREMENT.—In 

16 prioritizing and expediting institutional efforts and assist17 ance pursuant to this section, as appropriate, such institu18 tions shall use clear, accountable, and metric-based targets 

19 to measure the effectiveness of such guarantees and assist20 ance in achieving the goals described in section 3. 

21 (c) PROMOTION OF USE OF PRIVATE FINANCING AND

22 ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out policies under this section, 

23 such institutions shall promote the use of private financing 

24 and assistance and seek ways to remove barriers to private 


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1 financing for projects and programs under this Act, in2 cluding through charitable organizations. 

3 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec4 tion may be construed to authorize modifying or limiting 

5 the portfolio of the institutions covered by subsection (a) 

6 in other developing regions. 

7 SEC. 6. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

8 In implementing the strategy described in section 4, 

9 the President should direct the United States representa10 tives to appropriate international bodies to use the influ11 ence of the United States, consistent with the broad devel12 opment goals of the United States, to advocate that each 

13 such body— 

14 (1) commit to significantly increase efforts to 

15 promote investment in well-designed power sector 

16 and electrification projects in sub-Saharan Africa 

17 that increase energy access, in partnership with the 

18 private sector and consistent with the host countries’ 

19 absorptive capacity; 

20 (2) address energy needs of individuals and 

21 communities where access to an electricity grid is 

22 impractical or cost-prohibitive; 

23 (3) enhance coordination with the private sector 

24 in sub-Saharan Africa to increase access to elec25 tricity; 


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1 (4) provide technical assistance to the regu2 latory authorities of sub-Saharan African govern3 ments to remove unnecessary barriers to investment 

4 in otherwise commercially viable projects; and 

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

6 targets to measure the effectiveness of such projects. 

7 SEC. 7. PROGRESS REPORT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than three years after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 

10 transmit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

12 Relations of the Senate a report on progress made toward 

13 achieving the strategy described in section 4 that includes 

14 the following: 

15 (1) A report on United States programs sup16 porting implementation of policy and legislative 

17 changes leading to increased power generation and 

18 access in sub-Saharan Africa, including a description 

19 of the number, type, and status of policy, regulatory, 

20 and legislative changes initiated or implemented as 

21 a result of programs funded or supported by the 

22 United States in countries in sub-Saharan Africa to 

23 support increased power generation and access after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (2) A description of power projects receiving 

2 United States Government support and how such 

3 projects, including off-grid efforts, are intended to 

4 achieve the strategy described in section 4. 

5 (3) For each project described in paragraph 

6 (2)— 

7 (A) a description of how the project fits 

8 into, or encourages modifications of, the na9 tional energy plan of the country in which the 

10 project will be carried out, including encour11 aging regulatory reform in that county; 

12 (B) an estimate of the total cost of the 

13 project to the consumer, the country in which 

14 the project will be carried out, and other inves15 tors; 

16 (C) the amount of financing provided or 

17 guaranteed by the United States Government 

18 for the project; 

19 (D) an estimate of United States Govern20 ment resources for the project, itemized by 

21 funding source, including from the Overseas 

22 Private Investment Corporation, the United 

23 States Agency for International Development, 

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1 propriate United States Government depart2 ments and agencies; 

3 (E) an estimate of the number and re4 gional locations of individuals, communities, 

5 businesses, schools, and health facilities that 

6 have gained power connections as a result of 

7 the project, with a description of how the reli8 ability, affordability, and sustainability of power 

9 has been improved as of the date of the report; 

10 (F) an assessment of the increase in the 

11 number of people and businesses with access to 

12 power, and in the operating electrical power ca13 pacity in megawatts as a result of the project 

14 between the date of the enactment of this Act 

15 and the date of the report; 

16 (G) a description of efforts to gain mean17 ingful local consultation for projects associated 

18 with this Act and any significant estimated 

19 noneconomic effects of the efforts carried out 

20 pursuant to this Act; and 

21 (H) a description of the participation by 

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1 haran Africa on projects associated with this 

2 Act. 

Passed the Senate December 18, 2015. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


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