ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 6 — The 36th African Hydro Symposium kicked off Tuesday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with a call for urgent action to advance energy security across Africa.
The three-day symposium, held under the theme “Climate-Resilient Hydropower and Water-Energy Security in Africa,” brought together policymakers, utilities, developers, financiers, researchers and energy-sector professionals. Speaking at the event, Claver Gatete, UN under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, emphasized the need for African governments to integrate climate risk and sustainable water management into hydropower planning and operations. “African governments and developers should assess how water availability could change throughout a project’s operating life. Utilities need reliable hydrological information, sustained maintenance and procedures that help them respond to droughts and floods,” Gatete said. Noting that Africa’s industrialization, regional trade and job creation depend on energy systems that deliver affordable, dependable electricity, Gatete urged for stronger regional power pools, electricity interconnections and effective power markets to help Africa make better use of its energy resources.
Rashid Ali Abdallah, executive director of the African Energy Commission, said the huge reserves of both renewable and non-renewable energy resources on the continent provide Africa with great opportunities to improve modern energy access, which will accelerate industrialization, reduce poverty and sustain better economic growth. According to Abdallah, the hydropower resources in the continent present Africa with options of using different combinations of energy systems, including grid and off-grid systems at the local, national and regional levels to meet the growing energy demand. He called for accelerating hydropower development in Africa to drive the continent’s development agenda and address energy security challenges. The symposium will also see the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Africa’s energy security policy framework, aiming to establish a new framework for cooperation among African countries in different areas, including capacity development, institutional strengthening, and training on renewable energy transition.
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