After years of concentrating on power generation, government has turned its focus on rolling-out power transmission in a bid to increase connectivity.

In an interview with State Minister in charge of Energy, Eng. Albert Butare, said that since 2003 government focused on power generation because there was a crisis not only in the country but in the region.

According to Electrogaz, it is estimated that Rwanda generates approximately 40 Megawatts of electricity from different sources. Hydropower accounts for 60 per cent of the total production.

"For Rwanda there has never been any investment in the sector for the last twenty years there fore more focus was on generation as a priority,” said Butare.

With the estimated population of ten million people in Rwanda, only 6 per cent are said to have access to electricity and 99 per cent connected is from the urban areas.

According to Butare, all the potential generation sources like methane, solar, geothermal, Biomas, national domestic biogas program are working and thus there is a need to transport all the generated electricity.

A study on network extension and independent isolated networks is ongoing and expected to end by January 2009. 

It started June this year and will focus on the efficient and low cost extension mechanism like single phase electrification for light uses like lighting of houses.

The study is expected to come up with a prospectus that reflects the national roll out coverage, how much it will cost and the time frame for implementation.

Butare said that through Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between different development partners and the government of Rwanda through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to have one basket of fund that will respond to the requirement of the roll out program.

A team of experts composed of two technical experts from the Ministry of infrastructure, Electrogaz to gather with World Bank experts are in Tunisia to meet the Tunisian experts of STEG water utility and the ministry of energy.

The team will work on the agreement to have Tunisian experts to be engaged in the implementation program.

"We want Tunisian experts to be on board in the execution of the program because through this system, Tunisia has been able to electrify up 99.5 percent of the country yet in Rwanda we are between 5 and 6 percent,” said Butare.

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