The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the funding of $21.5 million for Chad. The funds mobilized by several development partners aim to increase renewable energy capacity in the country.
The funding consists of a $19.6 million loan from AfDB’s African Development Fund (ADF). The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the financial mechanism of UNFCCC, is providing $1.6 million under the Desert to Power (DtP) initiative. The US Agency for International Development is also contributing an amount of $292,000, under its Power Africa initiative.
The funds will be utilized to carry out the Power Sector Support Project (PASET), which the AfDB has planned to include in its DtP initiative. PASET aims to provide access to electricity via solar energy for 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
Under PASET, the National Electricity Company of Chad (SNE) will hybridize three thermal power stations with solar energy in the cities of Bongor (Mayo-Kebbi Est region), Bol (Lac region), and Biltine (Wadi Fira region). The hybridization of these thermal power stations will help in saving fuel.
According to AfDB, the project will also enable the installation of IT equipment for remote management of distribution and interconnecting of twelve secondary electricity production centers. This will help in improving the quality of billing & collection as well as building the capacity of SNE.
In addition to improving power generation, SNE plans to install 45,000 prepayment meters to bring down non-technical electricity losses. The PASET initiative will also build the capacity of other energy sector players in Chad, notably the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ARSE) and the Ministry of Energy.
, which the AfDB has planned to include in its DtP initiative. PASET aims to provide access to electricity via solar energy for 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.){kind=link}