Burundi Energy Situation

Overview

Republic of Burundi
	250px-LocationBurundi.svg.png
Capital	Bujumbura
Official language(s)	Kirundi, French
Government	Presidential Republic
President	Pierre Nkurunziza
Total area	27,834 km2
Population	8,988,091 (2009 estimate) 8,038,618 (2008 census)
GDP (nominal)	$1.321 billion
GDP Per capita	$162
Currency	Burundi franc (FBu) (BIF)
Time zone	CAT (UTC+2)
Calling code	+257

Energy situation

Burundi is a small, low income, densely-populated, landlocked country. The national income per capita is about $140, one of the lowest in the world. About 90 percent of the population lives in rural areas, although the urban population has grown rapidly in the past decade. According to the African Development Bank, 81 percent of the population was below the international poverty line of US$1 a day in 2006. Most of the rural population depends on subsistence farming and livestock for their livelihood and has only marginal involvement in the monetized economy. It is only in the last three years that private consumption has grown in real terms.

Burundi`s energy consumption relies to a great extent on biomass. Households are the main consumers of energy in the country, accounting for 94% of total consumption. Their needs are almost exclusively met by traditional biomass (99%). Electricity (0.3%), and oil products (0.4%) play an insignificant role.

If industry and transport is included, 94% of all energy consumption relies on biomass, which is composed by around 70% of fuel wood, 18% of agricultural residues, 6% of charcoal, and 1% of bagasse.

A key feature of the power sector in Burundi is the very low level of electrification. Total connections to the REGIDESO network have increased by about 10,000 since 2000 and now stand at about 41,000. Out of these 34,700 connections belong to households. That means that only 2% of the 1.6 million households in the country is currently electrified. Some 27,000 of these are located in Bujumbura, where the electrification rate is approximately 50%. Only 8,000 households (0.5 %) in the rest of the country are electrified. Even in electrified cities the connection rate is generally less than 10%. The average consumption of electricity in Burundi is 23 kWh/cap/year which is one of the lowest in the world (in Germany it was 7,442 kWh in 2004).

A key problem of the whole energy sector of Burundi is the scarcity of technical and management skills which affects the prospects for developing the country's energy resources, and it also reduces the scope for effective policy-making and the planning and operations of energy producing, marketing, and consuming institutions.

Electricity supply

Burundi faces severe constraints in electricity supply. The supply deficit currently varies between 12.9 MW during the wet season and 23.5 MW during the dry season when the country’s main hydropower plants are running at reduced capacity. The deficit in the power supply leads to frequent outages (on average 12 days a month). A large percentage of firms in Burundi have their own back-up generator, or share access to one. Back-up generators typically cost US$ 0.40 to US$ 0.50 per kWh to run, cutting into business profits and reducing the ability of local business to compete in regional and international markets. The impact of power cuts is considered one of the key hurdles to economic growth. Demand for electricity is expected to continue to rise steadily as the economy improves, returning refugees re-establish themselves and standards of living increase. Peak demand occurs during the evening hours and emanates mainly from household lighting needs.

Due to the lack of maintenance and the supply deficit described above, the quality of service and operations is currently insufficient, with estimated technical and non technical losses of 20-30 %. Technical losses are deemed to make up a large portion of these losses given the poor condition of the network, of the high voltage and medium voltage stations, and of the low voltage distribution posts. The numbers of power interruptions are high both on Low Voltage and on the High Voltage/Medium Voltage (HV/MV) backbone network. The quality of the electricity delivered suffers from poor frequency and significant voltage deviations The Lack of adequate system earthing and protection functions cause occasional high voltage surges the result of which is that consumer equipment and appliances are destroyed.

Renewable energy

Biomass

The high population density combined with an inefficient use of biomass (three stone fire cooking) makes fuel wood increasingly scarce and puts reforestation efforts in competition for land with agricultural production. It is estimated that trees cover around 200,000 ha or 7% of the country's total land area. This includes natural forests (around 130,000 ha), woodland savannah and tree plantations. Wood consumption is estimated to be 6.4 Mm³ per year. It is significantly more what a sustainable management of the 200,000 ha tree area would allow. Thus, there is clear evidence that the forest area is continuously depleting on a national level although data related to forestry and fuelwood are very poor.

In 1987 the forest coverage was in the range of 165,000 ha to 200,000 ha throughout the country. From 1993 to 1997, it decreased from 206,000 ha to 174,000 ha; the crisis of 1993 being a major cause. It is to be noted that these figures do not take into account that during the dry season bush fires are lit in nearly all the great reserves of the country, which makes the status of forest management even more worrying. As of 2007, fuel wood consumption accounts for about 95% of the energy requirements in Burundi, that is 6,200,000 m³ of wood used per year on national level. This consumption was about 5,300,000 m³ of wood in 1987, thus there is an increase of 20.7%.

The rural areas take up the bulk of consumption which is more than 76% of the overall consumption at the rate of 2.93 kg/person/day. Potential wood consumption is estimated to require production of about 180,000 ha, which is higher than the current forest coverage of 174,000 ha. These figures underline the need for both reduction of wood consumption and need for more afforestation.

Use of wood remains by far the biggest energy source for both rural and urban households (heating, charcoal for cooking, lighting, construction, etc.). Besides the problems related to the consumption of fire wood (see table below), bush fires lit in some regions of the country and bush clearing for agricultural purposes have the impact of constant pressure on the existing resources. Hence, the major recurrent question is how to increase and maintain at a satisfactory level the wood resources.

Firewood

Table 1: Firewood consumption in tons. Source: energy data assessment 2005, n.a means data not available

Sector of activities	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Residential	5,566,501	5,733,496	5,905,500	6,064,949	6,210,508
Commercial/Institutional	n.a	n.a	n.a	n.a	n.a
Food processing (tea factories)	14,545	16,279	17,039	17,805	18,232
Total	5,581,046	5,749,775	5,922,539	6,082,754	6,228,740

Statistical data related to the consumption of firewood for the residential sector has been extrapolated by 2.4% from the consumption of the year 2005. Considering the population growth estimated at 2.7% per year, and the rural population estimated at 90% of the populace consuming exclusively wood and agricultural waste mainly for cooking, the annual increase in the rate of the consumption of this energy resource lies in the range of 2.4%.

A specific survey would be required to determine the consumption in the commercial sector (hotels, restaurants, bakeries, brickyards, etc.) and institutions (schools, prisons, military and police camps, etc.). For the food processing (tea factory, sugar factory, refinery, soap factory, oil works) the data given in the tables here originates from the consumption of only tea factories.

Charcoal

Table 2: Charcoal consumption in tons.

Sector of activities	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Residential	327,674	336,521	346,617	367,414	382,110
Commercial/Institutional	n.a	n.a	n.a	n.a	n.a
Total	327,674	336,521	346,617	367,414	382,110

Charcoal is used in towns and out-of-town zones, where the population is estimated at nearly 10% of the national populace. With the urbanization rate varying between 7 - 10% (from 1996 to 2005), the average of the consumption would increase by 4% compared to the year 2005.

Peat

A potential partial substitute for firewood could be peat although the resources are limited. Dried peat is either used directly or processed to peat charcoal. Peat reserves are estimated at 100 to 150 million tons, 57 of which are considered economically exploitable. The use of peat was promoted by the Burundian government for quite a long time, because it is – beside fire wood – the only natural energy resource in Burundian soil. It is, however, not very well disseminated in the country and mainly used in government institutions like army camps, prisons, etc. and by a very limited number of private companies like bakeries. The annual production of peat during 2006 was only 4,871 tons, a quantity, which could even not satisfy the demands of the army which is the main peat consumer. However, potentially peat could cover a substantial share of Burundi’s energy demand for several years. Environmental aspects of peat production and consumption need to be considered carefully.

Bagasse

Up to 10% of Burundi’s electric power is generated from bagasse a by-product of the sugar industry based on co-generation technology. The bagasse is used as feedstock to produce both process heat and electricity. As a result of extensive use of co-generation in Burundi, the country's sugar industry (SOSUMO) is self-sufficient in electricity and can sell excess power to the national grid.

Hydropower

Hydropower is the most important technology for power generation in Burundi, representing 95% of the total national generation capacity. This energy is transported through elevated lines of average volltage and distributed to the customers by lines of low voltage. The levels of transport voltage in Burundi are 110 kV, 30 kV and 10 kV.

Electrical energy production was 133 GWh in 1992 and 150 GWh in 1993. The annual growth of consumption was estimated at 8% before the war, and the number of customers has increased by 12.6% on average by year from 1987 to 1993. With the onset of the war,  production has reduced from 131.9 GWh in 1995 to 95.5 GWh in 1996, which is a decrease of 25% while the growth rate of the number of connected customers decreased by 8%. However, with the improvement of security throughout the country, the situation is coming to normal. The production for the year 1997 was 129 GWh, and in 2000 it reached 139.5 GWh.

Main actors

REGIDESO

The Régie de Production et de Distribution d'Eau et d’Electricité – REGIDESO, (Directorate for Production and Distribution of Water and Electricity) is state controlled. Its assignment is to ensure production, transportation, distribution and commercialisation of electricity and drinking water in urban areas or rural centres. It is endowed with financial autonomy and is under the supervision of the Ministry of Water, Energy and Mining. REGIDESO exploits by itself 96.5% of the hydro power installed at national level.

DGHER

The Direction Générale d’Hydraulique et d’Electrification Rurale (Office of Management of Water and Rural Electrification) is the government organ in charge of water and electrification of rural areas. It is a department of the Ministry of Rural Planning, in charge of the rural area electrification. DGHER produces 1.5% of the overall electricity.  

Work relationship between REGIDESO and DGHER

REGIDESO is the main producer of hydropower energy and constructs and maintains major electrical lines for electricity transport and others minor lines called secondary or distribution lines in mean tension (MT). DGHER is a customer of REGIDESO because it buys electricity from REGIDESO and distributes it to the rural customers. The total power consumed by 1,973 clients from DGHER plants amounts up to 1,969,296 kWh. DGHER conveys electricity via MT lines from those of REGIDESO’s distribution system.

DGHER previously exploited some micro hydro plants directly, but these were affected by high rates of unavailability. For instance, the hydro power plants of Buhiga (240 kW) and Ruyigi (70 kW), which supply the towns of Buhiga/Karuzi and Ruyigi respectively, were previously exploited by DGHER, and later handed over to REGIDESO for exploitation in 1991. As a result, the country depends on the national interconnected network of REGIDESO supplied essentially by hydropower plants of high capacity. The national interconnection is facilitated by the relatively short distances to be covered.

Religious communities and private companies

There also exist a number of privately owned power plants that produce 2% of national electricity. These plants are run by companies, individuals as well as religious communities, also see section Hydropower plants.

Hydropower plants

Most of the electricity supply is generated by seven REGIDESO hydroelectric plants with a combined installed capacity of 30.6 MW. Two plants deliver 85 percent of the national supply: Rwegura (18 MW) and Mugere (8 MW). For more information on the sites' locations, click here.

Burundi also benefits from imports from the regional hydro plants of Rusizi I and II, which are operated by Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL), and SINELAC, respectively. Currently, these imports account for 40% of the electricity consumption.

DGHER operates 5 (other sources say 8) small and micro hydro plants in rural areas while non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and some nonprofit organizations like churches operate another twelve micro hydro plants. At least 40% of them are out of service or in urgent need for being rehabilitated.

Supply and demand 

In 2006, the electricity production from national plants Ruzizi I and II was 152,056 MWh whilst the consumption (billed power) was 105,077 MWh. The losses represented 30% of produced energy. The potential of production of 300 MW in exploitable hydro energy in Burundi can be observed through its geographical relief and the abundant precipitation. Burundi carries an important hydro-electric power potential, but only exploits slightly more than than10 % of this (32 MW). As of 2006, 35,230 clients were registered and billed.

For information on challenges affecting the exploitation of hydropower in Burundi, click here.

Solar energy

A number of private companies and individuals, religious communities and some donor funded hospitals, health centres and schools have installed solar PV systems. Some private companies sell, install and maintain imported solar systems locally. In 1998, a total number of 331 solar systems had been installed with a total capacity 47 kW. The contribution to the national power supply is hence not significant.

Potential for solar energy is also quite high. The meteorological data from 1988 indicates an average monthly radiation time between 374 and 435 cal/cm² depending on the location.

Wind energy

The potential for wind energy in Burundi seems to quite high, especially in the Imbo plains. Meteorological data from 1988 suggests an average wind flow of almost 5 m/s at 2 meters above ground.

Fossil fuels

The consumption of commercial energy is very low with only 14 kg oil equivalent or 163 kWh per year and capita (2001), one of the lowest in the world. Petroleum products (crude oil, LPG) account for 2,5 % and hydropower for another 2,5% of the energy consumption. All petroleum products (70 – 85 kilotons per year) have to be imported and transported over at least 1,400 km through neighboring countries before they reach Burundi. Consequently, petroleum is comparatively expensive and a high burden on the national budget. The market price for Diesel and Gasoline is around 1.20 US$ per liter. Petroleum products are used for transportation, for industrial purposes and for power generation in diesel run thermal plants.

The utility REGIDESO owns a 5.5 MW diesel power plant acquired in 1995, which has been mostly idle due to the lack of funds to pay for the fuel. The average cost of thermal (diesel) electricity is approximately USD 0.33/KWh, while the average sale price was 88.5 BuF/KWh (USD 0.075) in 2007. The thermal plant has been used as back-up in case of hydropower production failure. More recently, and in the face of the increasing supply deficit, the Government has decided to operate the thermal plant as a complement to insufficient hydropower supply, and to assist REGIDESO in meeting the plant’s high operating expenses.

Standalone diesel generator sets and inverters are also in use, but are mainly limited to hotels, lodges or public institutions (military camps, hospitals, schools) and rich individual households.

Policy framework, laws and regulations

The 2006 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) presents four strategic axes:
(i) improve governance and security;
(ii) promote sustainable and equitable economic growth;
(iii) develop human capital; and
(iv) prevent and control HIV/AIDS.
Energy issues are mentioned under ii), in the paragraph “Expand power supply capacity”.

Energy Policy

The country has substantial potential for hydroelectric power and the government plans for expansion base mainly on hydropower. Thermal power production is considered a temporary measure to bridge the short term gap between demand and supply. The focus of the energy policy is on rehabilitation of existing (hydropower)plants and distribution grids as well as the development of new hydroelectric sites. Furthermore a rural electrification program is planned mainly by grid extension and by providing information on alternative energy sources affordable for low-income households.

For the forthcoming years, the Government of Burundi is planning to carry out the following actions in the energy sector:
(i) double the hydroelectric power stations of Nyemanga (2.8 MW) and Buhiga;
(ii) execute feasibility and implementation studies for Kabu 16 (max. capacity: 20 MW), Kaganuzi (5 MW), Mpanda (10.4 MW), Mule 34 (16.5 MW). For the longer term feasibility and implementation studies for Makembwe (115 MW), Kabulantwe (67 MW) Rushihi (15 MW) and Ruzibazi (7 MW) are foreseen;
(iii) construct regional power plants in cooperation with neighbouring countries: Ruzizi III (145 MW) and Rusumo Falls (61.5 MW);
(iv) develop rural electrification by the construction of mini-hydros, solar and wind- power, the use of biogas and grid extension;
(v) renovation of the existing hydroelectric power stations, and electricity transmission and distribution networks;
(vi) construction of Power generation plant of Kabu16, Kaganuzi, Mpanda and Mule 34;
(vii) extension of the urban electric networks as well as those in rural areas;
(viii) rehabilitating of existing non functioning plants;
(ix) organizational audit and financial turnaround of the Electricity Utility (REGIDESO);
(x) develop a performance contract between the Government and REGIDESO.

Realisation of all the above would effectively lead to a multiplication of the existing electrical infrastructure, which requires a strong sector to absorb this growth. In the light of the existing scarcity of qualified human capacity it thus is questionable if execution of the above activities is realistic. Moreover, to be able to realize the plans, at least 80% of the funds would have to come from inter¬national donors, which in itself bears a risk of not getting materialized.

In addition, the Ministry of Water, Energy and Mines (MWEM) aims to
(i) restructure the energy sector by merging the electricity activities of DGHER with REGIDESO;
(ii) encourage private sector participation in electricity production;
(iii) fully enact the regulatory framework. The MWEM considers the direct subsidy of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs as inadequate and inefficient and adheres to a tariff policy of fully covering at least O&M costs;
(iv) making users and public services aware of rational utilization of available energy.

In 2000 the government adopted the Law N° 1/014, which defines the principles, forms and conditions for private enterprise intervention in the electricity sector. According to the law, the energy sector remains a public service under the responsibility of the state, but it opens its doors to Burundian public and private investors, selected through invitation to tender with specific criteria, The Government invited the private sector to play a progressively important role in the management of the utility, first through a management contract and later transitioning to a concession. However, the present situation is much alike to that prevailing before the law, i.e. the public electrical utility is still entrusted to the state controlled companies REGIDESO and DGHER.

Tarification

Electricity prices in Burundi are fixed by the government and not market driven, insofar part of the energy policy. Tariffs are in general too low to allow financial viability, and social equity among service users. A tariff revision in 2007 was a first step to adjust the tariff structure and its levels, but they are still inadequate. The household electricity tariffs of REGIDESO currently in place include subsidized pricing for up to 750 kWh per 2–month billing cycle, starting at 41 BuF/kWh (0.02 Euro/kWh) for the first 150 units and going up to 127 BuF/kWh (0.07Euro/kWh) for consumption over 750 kWh.

With the assistance of the World Bank, a tariff study was done in 2010 to provide the theoretical basis for the difficult political decision of increasing the tariffs. Based on the results of this study the MEM announced a tariff reform for electricity and water prices in June 2011. The tariffs were to be increased about 100 %. Due to massive protests of the population the Minister of Energy and Water revoked this reform. A new reform with a tariff elevation of about 30% is now planned for 2012. Several potential investors for new electricity production capacities required the tariff reform before investing and remain on hold.

DGHER tariffs are low as well. Starting at 56 BuF/kWh (0.03Euro/kWh) up to 300kWh and 72 BuF/kWh (0.04Euro/kWh) for more than 750 kWh.

Sustainable structures for rural electrification require cost covering tariffs as a key factor. Hence, it will be necessary for EnDev to support the process of creating the framework conditions for tariff setting to enable electricity production of power producers to be cost covering and profitable.

Institutional set up in the energy sector, activities of other donors

The institutional framework in Burundi is complicated by the fact that multiple ministries and agencies have overlapping responsibilities for the energy sector. Four ministries (Energy and Mines; Communal Development; Planning and Finance) play an active role in defining and executing government policy in the energy sector.

The Ministry of Water, Energy and Mining (MWEM) has the overall responsibility for the energy sector. The policies and programs of the ministry are implemented through the Directorate General of Water and Energy (DGEE) and the Directorate General of Hydraulics and Rural Electrification (DGHER).

DGEE is responsible for preparing sector policy and legislative and regulatory texts. It plans and coordinates the sector’s activities, defines priorities, formulates investment programs, controls operation of the power utility, oversees the permanent secretariat of the national energy commission, and prepares tariff policy.

DGHER is responsible for coordinating all activities for water supply and energy in rural areas, including (i) managing government budgets and programs for rural electrification; (ii) selling electricity produced from rural facilities or purchased from REGIDESO; (iii) providing services to third parties for project development; (iv) managing all authorized grants from donors.

MWEM also supervises REGIDESO (the utility for Water and Electricity Production and Distribution), a state enterprise created in 1968. REGIDESO is responsible for managing the national electricity grid and for ensuring the supply of electricity and water in Bujumbura as well as in 23 urban centers. Currently, all electricity production facilities over 150 kW are managed by REGIDESO. However, REGIDESO is not responsible for planning the expansion of the electricity supply system, which is done by the DGEE as one of their main activities.

There are plans to merge REGIDESO and DGHER to one utility providing energy and water nationwide.

Another supplier of electricity is SINELAC (Société Internationale des Pays des Grands Lacs). SINELAC was established as a joint venture by Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to develop and operate international electricity projects and supplies electricity to REGIDESO.

The CNEE (National Water and Energy Commission) was created in 1989 to: (i) coordinate the activities of the various executing agencies and participating institutions in the water and energy sectors; (ii) propose legislation to promote water resources; (iii) establish standards and norms; ensure the protection of water and energy resources;

In addition to the above mentioned institutions the Government is planning to create a Control and Regulatory Authority for the Water and Electricity Sector being responsible for concession agreements, standards and norms and record and publish approved tariffs for electricity services. Up to now all regulatory decision are made by the Ministry itself.

ONATOUR (National Agency of Peat) is another public company with the government holding 100% of the shares. Its assignment is the exploitation of peat in Burundi.

The Burundian Centre for Alternative Energies (Centre d'Etudes Burundais en Energies Alternatives - CEBEA) was created with its general mission of applied research in renewable energy. Originally its main task focused on wind energy. In the late 80ies, CEBEA installed many imported photovoltaic modules on health centres and schools and had a production schedule of the solar equipment for cooking (solar cookers), for heating (solar heaters) and for drying. CEBEA suffered from a drastically reduced staff number and hardly any operational budget.

Other donors:

Main donors in the energy sector in Burundi are the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Chinese Exim Bank, UNDP/GEF, since recently the german KfW, EU and France and to a small extent Japan.

In 2008 the World Bank approved the MULTI-SECTORAL WATER AND ELELCTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT. The budget of the project is US$ 65 Mio and fully granted. The amount for the energy component is US$ 45 Mio. The project development objective is to increase reliability and quality of electricity services and to strengthen REGIDESO’s financial sustainability. The project is intended to help REGIDESO to restore its financial and commercial viability and the quality and continuity of services in the face of the increasing demand from individual consumers and economic agents. The investments are geared towards the rehabilitation of the main grid infrastructure back-bone (US$ 16,8 Mio), financial support to procure diesel fuel for 3 years and associated parts to allow current thermal generation capacity to be fully used (7,9 Mio), pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of 8 small sized hydropower plants (US$ 1.5 Mio), increased revenue collection of REGIDESO including the installation of 5000 prepaid meters (US$ 2.3 Mio) and demand side management measures (US$ 1 Mio) including the distribution of 200.000 CFLs and energy audits.

The 3rd phase of at Ruzizi for SINELAC, the Ruzizi III Hydro Power station will be finance by Germany (KfW), EU and France.

AfDB has approved a US$ 10,8 Mio project that focuses on investments for the rehabilitation of hydropower generators, the construction of two new Medium Voltage / Low Voltage (MV/LV) transformer plants in Bujumbura, the rehabilitation and extension of the MV/LV electricity networks, and establishment of new connections and installation of new meters. In addition AfDB worked out an infrastructure action plan for Burundi covering the next 20 years. The core of the Action plan is a comprehensive and ambitious program that aims to upgrade the basic infrastructure of the country and integrate Burundi's power, transport and communications networks with those of other members of the EAC. The key feature of the program is to develop a national power grid that, by 2030, will provide 24 hour electricity to more than 40 percent of the 2.8 million households in the country at that time. It will also provide reliable and low-cost power to all urban-based businesses and for processing and other requirements in the key farming locations The total cost of the program over the next 20years is put at about $4.6 billion (at 2007 constant prices). The power program would involve expenditures of about $2 billion, including $465 million of private investment in new generation capacity. The program aims at installing additional production capacity of 395MW.

The Chinese cooperation financed the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric power plants of Mugere (8 MW) in 2007, and the rehabilitation of Ruvyironza (1.28 MW) and Gikonge (0.85 MW) in 2005, for which works have been completed by Chinese companies.

UNDP-GEF is financing a regional Micro and Mini-hydropower Capacity Development Project, which includes Burundi among 11 benefitting countries.

Japan financed the installation of a 200 kW solar power system for the university hospital of Kamenge.

The regional project Catalyst/IFDC has a component for “production of sustainable energy” combined with reforestation and agro forestry activities (energy carbon and biomass with new techniques of carbonization).

The Arabian Economic Development Bank is actually financing a feasibility study for the electrification of rural areas in Burundi (US$ 440.000). The Belgian Technical Cooperation is supporting REGIDESO.

Other major activities in the country financed by BMZ or DGIS

EnDev has been active in Burundi since 2010 pomoting rural electrification using solar systems mainly in the Gitega province.  The key partners are Ministry of Energy and Mines, the General Directorate of Water and Rural Energies and an NGO  International Fertilisation and Development Committee (IFDC). There is also some promotion of improved cook stoves ongoing,

References

Sources page