Lesotho Energy Situation

• Countries Portal
• Countries Group
• All Lesotho Articles

Lesotho

Capital:

Maseru

Region:

Coordinates:

29.0000° S, 28.0000° E

Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

30,360

Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

2,311,472 (2023)

Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

70 (2023)

GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

2,117,962,451 (2023)

GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population

916.28 (2023)

Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.

50.00 (2022)

Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

no data

Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

0.00 (2007)

Source: World Bank

---

Introduction

The Kingdom of Lesotho is an enclaved, landlock country in southern Africa completely surrounded by South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km² (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population slightly over two million.Its capital and largest city is Maseru. 

Key Problems of the Energy Sector

Key challenges in the energy sector

• Very low access to electricity. Only 6% of rural households are connected to the national grid.
• Stagnant generation capacity in the last decade and problems in the maintenance of facilities contrasts with rising demand, 6% annual average for period 2003-2010.
• Import dependency from Mozambique and South Africa.
• Weak policy and institutional framework lacking holistic approach and incentives for private sector involvement.
• Low awareness on renewable energy technologies and limited knowledge of potential resources.

Institutional Set up in the Energy Sector

Ministry of Natural Resources or Ministry of Energy, Meteorology and Water Affairs

Acording to SE4ALL report for Lesotho, The Ministry of Natural Resources through the Department of Energy is responsible for the overall administration and coordination of energy in Lesotho. Other relevant institutions and entities responding to the Department of Energy include the Petroleum Fund (PF), Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC), Lesotho Electricity Authority (LEA), Appropriate Technology Services (ATS), Lesotho Electrification Unit (LEU), National Rural Electrification Fund (NREF) to be established and Lesotho Electricity Generation Authority (LEGA). However, the Energy Policy 2015-2025 does not mention the Ministry of Natural Resources and refers instead to the Ministry of Energy, Meteorology and Water Affairs. This could mean that there has been a change in the names of the Ministries in the recent times.

Institutional overview Energy Sector in Lesotho

Department of Energy	Policy, Plans, Strategy, Programs formulation, enforcement and information dissemination.
Petroleum Fund	Funding viable energy projects and research and development in the petroleum sector
Lesotho Electricity Authority	Electricity Sector Regulation
Lesotho Electricity Generation Authority	Development and management of electricity generation projects to supply Lesotho and the region with electricity
Lesotho Electricity Company	Electricity transmission, distribution and supply in urban and financially viable areas of the country.
Lesotho Electrification Unit	Build operate and Transfer of electricity transmission, distribution and supply network and management of NREF
National Rural electrification Fund	Rural electrification –NREF is still at concept level.
Appropriate Technology Services	Technology development

 

Lesotho Electricity Authority (LEA)

From August, 2004 until April, 2013 the Authority was mandated with regulating the electricity sector. In 2007 the Government decided that the Lesotho Electricity Authority (LEA) should be transformed to be a multi-sector regulatory body assuming additional powers to regulate urban water and sewerage services in the country. LEWA officially started regulating both electricity and urban water and sewerage services sector on May, 2013. The Authority independently deals with matters such as electricity pricing, complaints handling and resolution and the supervision of the implementation of the Quality of Service and Supply standards (QOSSS) by its licensees.

There are other Ministries or agencies with overarching influence over the energy sector: Ministry of Development Planning; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Mining; Ministry of Public Works and Transport; Water Commission; and Lesotho Revenue Authority.

---