Private Sector Federation says it will seek ways to attract more investors in the energy sector to sustain the current economic growth.Hannington Namara, the PSF Executive Secretary told The New Times, “The sector is not known by many investors. Government has been investing in the sector in the past and it has laid a strong foundation for private operators.” Rwanda’s energy sector has in the past attracted low investment, compelling the government to initiate and implement all power projects in an effort to increase access to electricity.“We have good political will and all the necessary support but very few projects are taken up by private operators,” Namara said in an interview. There is a perception that many investors didn’t have enough information about the sector.Rwanda’s source of energy is mainly hydro power, currently producing about 44.8MW, including that from mini and small hydropower plants in operation.The energy sector is said to have various challenges such as investment capital, independent power producer, power purchase agreement and high electricity tariffs that contribute to low investments. “The challenge of investment capital can be prevailed over through joint ventures and this will only be possible when local investors get enough data about the sector,” Namara emphasised.Some of the opportunities presented in micro ‑ mini hydropower as a sub sector include Ntaruka A with 2MW potential and Akanyaru Hydropower Project with a 4 MW resource. Feasibility study reports for both projects are available. Akanyaru’s was completed by SOGREAH Engineers in 1992.Medium hydropower projects include 17 MW Nyabarongo II, where a feasibility study, completed at a cost of $80m, indicated it could be ready by 2017. Available data indicate that installed on-grid capacity is 100.5 MW, while available capacity is 87.5 MW. They include 54 per cent in hydro, 38 per cent thermal, 3.6 per cent in methane and 0.3 per cent in solar, which is short of the 1000 megawatts needed to cater for the country’s development agenda.Geothermal energy is expected to contribute at least 300MW to the national grid by 2017, and potentially provide half of the country’s energy requirements by 2020. Lake Kivu contains as much as 50 billion cubic metres of exploitable methane, which, if exploited, would not only power Rwanda’s development projects, but also benefit the region. EDPRS figures indicate that households with electricity increased to 10.8 percent in 2010/2011, up from 4.3 percent in 2005/06.“Access to energy is crucial, it’s actually the pillar of any economic development, and that’s why we prioritise it for the period running up to 2017,” the State Minister in charge of Energy, Emma Francoise Isimbingabo, told the media recently.Government has for long, urged investors to turn challenges into opportunities to develop the sector. World Bank Country Director, Johannes Zutt, urged the private sector to study and analyse the sector well in order to identify how it works, what works well and what doesn’t work, to make it as attractive as possible. A forum on energy was held last week in Kigali to encourage local and foreign businesses to invest in the sector as attractive as possible.Investors who participated in the forum were impressed by the unexploited potential in the sector as well as good governance.
