Hydro power lines to be installed on all major roads in the country starting January; Electrogaz

Hydro power lines to be installed on all major roads in the country starting January; Electrogaz

BY GEORGE KAGAME

Large parts of rural Rwanda will also soon be lighting with electricity if the words of John Mirenge the Director General of Electorgaz, the national corporation charged with power distribution in the country are to be believed.
Speaking to the press on Monday in his office, Mirenge said, "from the beginning of 2009 we shall be able to connect power supply lines on all the main roads connecting major urban centres across the country." He said this was the medium term solution for Rwanda's alarming energy costs and erratic connection.
Mirenge said government had earmarked 8 mini hydro electricity projects and construction works were already underway for some while many will start in January 2009. Tenders for the construction of mini hydro projects in Ngororero, Gisagara, Nyaruguru, Bugesera, Byumba and two in the Eastern Province. Many of the projects will be functional by the end of next year.
Mirenge said that government's ambitious rural electrification programme will also be boosted greatly, "we are coordinating a project with the Ministry of Infrastructure and donors to have electricity footprints in all rural areas in the country beginning with the new year."
The national electricity extension programme especially in rural areas is being funded by the European Union and analysts say that once the new projects are completed government will be able to achieve its target of increasing access to electricity from the current 108,000 homesteads to increasing access to 16 percent of the population by 2012. He added that by the same time there will be 30 hydro projects in rural areas to increase connectivity.

Only a tiny fraction of the population remains connected to electricity and this is the leading challenge to policy makers in the country as the limited coverage of electricity supply lines hinder economic activities and investments in many areas. The government has adopted several alternatives to find solutions to energy, these include the establishment of the Institute for Scientific Research and Technology (IRST) extends its biogas development project, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency RURA and conceited efforts in delivering the promise of massive methane gas depots in Lake Kivu in the Western Province.
The prospects and challenges of hydro electricity production in Central Africa are troublesome in equal measure, with DR Congo unstable politically, work on the Grand Inga Dam project set to be begin in 2010 is in doubt as the DRC remains insecure. The USD. 80bn has been hailed as a final solution to all energy requirements in the region and Africa at large.