WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-06-08 Time: 17:00:01 Posted By: News Poster
By Amadou Jallow
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) is currently hosting a five-day forum on the Organisation of the electric power market structure for members of the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR) at the conference Hall of the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.
Organised under the AFUR Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Project and funded by the European Union (ACP) Energy Facility, the forum will deal on the economic fundamentals of regulation in the electricity sector and on the best practices for attracting private investment in the sector through public-private partnerships. The overriding objective of the forum however, is to develop robust and coordinated inter-country trading within the African continent.
The main focus of AFUR is on issues related to the regulation of energy, communication, water, sanitation and transport industries, with a particular emphasis on issues that are cross-sectoral.
Sira Wally Ndow-Njie, minister of Energy, in her keynote opening remarks said energy sustainability, availability and acceptability are the main crucial issues human life is faced with today. While observing that energy is clearly recognised as indispensable to all human endeavours, she stressed that without energy, economies cannot grow and poverty cannot be reduced. The inadequate supply in electricity power, she added, decreases enterprise productivity, competitiveness and employment rate of a country.
She further told the gathering that electric power in Africa is grossly inadequate, unreliable and very expensive. This, she said has made it difficult for the region to achieve most of its development aspirations. She added that while electric services by themselves are not sufficient to eradicate extreme poverty, they are necessary for creating the conditions for economic growth and improving social equality.
She stated that in order to attract funds to the private sector, it is a pre-requisite for African Power Utilities to be more efficient and financially viable. The poor management of power utilities, she noted, results in inefficient operation and large technical and non-technical losses, thereby reducing their ability to honour the obligation they owe to their creditors and pay dividend to shareholders.
The Energy minister also informed the gathering that the high instability of oil price and the growing concern for environmental protection requires diversification of the different sources of electric power, in the attainment of which, she said calls for more investment in renewable energy. According to her, African countries are endowed with lot of resources such ad wind, solar, hydro among others that when usefully utilised will greatly help to resolve Africa’s electric power needs.
She finally challenged delegates to come up with the most ideal electric power market structure and model at the end of the five-day confab, to bring about adequate, reliable and efficient electric power supply that will meet both current and future needs of African countries.
Alagie B Gaye, director general of PURA said the forum seeks to provide a high-level view of the types of options available for power market structure and models and how they may be tailored to the particular circumstances of African countries through the example of five pilot countries as well as the contribution of participants related to their own countries and the sub-region.
Gaye told the gathering that the first generation reforms of Africa’s power market like other infrastructures of African economies in the 1980s and 90s, which led to some private sector participation in the management and ownership of vertically integrated monopolies, were spurred by the imperative of reducing the fiscal deficits generated by inefficient public enterprises.
As a result of the shortcomings of the first round of reforms, he said many African countries proceeded with deeper institutional reform measures such as the establishment of autonomous regulatory authorities and the introduction of more independent power producers.
He expressed hope that participants will come out with tangible resolutions with the best practices in the policy and regulatory realms that will be translated into implementable actions with accelerate access to electricity in Africa.
Idrissa Niasse, chairman of the Energy Sectoral Committee at AFUR based in Dakar, Senegal said energy efficiency provides enough capacity for production, thereby meeting the increasing demand for electricity. He promised that at the end of the Banjul meeting the African Forum for Utility Regulators will convene another for the sustainability and efficiency of electricity in Africa. Niasse commended the government of The Gambia, through PURA, for the reception accorded them since their arrival in the country.
Professor MM Elmisiry, Energy expert at NEPAD Secretariat and the representative of the African Union (AU) described the forum as a foundation for the establishment of regional market integration for Africa.
He thanked participants for attending the forum and assured them of his office’s resolve to always collaborate with AFUR in an effort to provide efficient electricity supply in Africa.
Original date published: 1 June 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201006080872.html?viewall=1