Rwanda Energy Situation

1.1 Energy Sector

The energy consumption of Rwanda‘s 8.5 Million inhabitants of 34 kWh per capita is one of the lowest in the world. Less than 5% of the population is connected to the grid, in rural areas less than 1%. 95% of the energy is generated by the means of firewood. If the consumption remains stable, the country will be completely deforested within the next 15 years. Due to the low purchasing power (more than 60 % of country’s population live below the absolute poverty line), more than 90% of the households use firewood or charcoal for cooking with traditional ovens with an efficiency rate of 15-20%. 65% of the electricity is generated by hydropower, the remaining by diesel generators. 50% of the energy is imported from the CEPGL association (SINELAC and SNEL) as well as a small amount from Uganda. The fuel for 3 diesel generation stations (100.000 t/year) contributes to 60-80% of the import expenditures. The power supply grid has an extension of about 2000 km. In 2004 technical losses amounted to 15%. As during the civil war in 1994 the power generation and supply infrastructure was destroyed in large part, the government resolved to implement a rehabilitation and expansion programme in 2002. The monopoly of the energy and water supplier, Electrogaz, which is currently under preparation for its privatisation, was abolished. The energy policy of 2004 is in line with environmental standards and envisages demand coverage by harnessing hydro power, methane gas from Lake Kivu, wind power, solar power and geothermal energy. Until 2010, the generation capacity is planned to increase from 40 MW (including imports) to 125 MW. In March 2005, the contract for the „Urgent Electricity Rehabilitation Project“ with a volume of 31 Million USD was signed with the World Bank.

1.2 Problem Situation

After the genocide in 1994, Rwanda has been undergoing a reconstruction in all sectors. The economic sectors with a dynamic potential (e.g. agribusiness, tourism, information and communication technology) require an improved energy infrastructure which is not in place in most of the regions. While large companies rely on expensive diesel generators, most of the SMEs in rural areas have no electricity supply, which limits expansion and hampers productivity. At the same time, large parts of the social infrastructure cannot provide efficient services due to a lack of energy. Rural electrification does not reach most regions. There are only few providers of decentralised energy systems in the country. The EnDev intervention will assist in alleviating these problems through provision of electricity in new areas and capacity building.

Energy for cooking purposes

In Rwanda, firewood and charcoal are practically the sole providers of cooking energy in the
rural areas. Firewood covers 90.4 % of the demand and charcoal 7.4 %, the remaining 2.2 %
being mainly covered by agricultural residues. Even for the urban households firewood
(52 %) and charcoal (39.5 %) are by far the main sources of energy used, other sources
being gas and kerosene (2002 population and housing census). This dependency on
firewood and charcoal creates an unsustainable situation as the demand (1.93 kg/capita/day,
MININFRA, 2005) largely surpasses the production (0.46 kg/capita/day, MININFRA, 2005).
The Government of Rwanda is trying to curb the rate of deforestation amongst others by
banning the felling of trees without a permit. This rule applies to all trees including the ones in
privately owned production forest. However, it is doubtful whether this measure will help
without the availability of energy alternatives and fuel efficient woodstoves.
Households in rural Rwanda depend for more than 90 % on fuelwood to meet their domestic
energy needs. For many of these households it becomes increasingly difficult to satisfy their
daily domestic energy requirements, due to the high population pressure and stringent
legislation designed to reduce (fuel)wood consumption. Collection of traditional fuels devours
time, in particular for women and children, which could have been spent otherwise at school
or in productive activities. By burning these fuels, particularly women and small children are
exposed to smoke and prone to respiratory illnesses and eye ailments. Often, the same
households are facing also the consequences of lack of hygiene and proper sanitation,
resulting in water borne diseases affecting mainly women and children. At many places, the
collection of traditional fuels damages the environment on which the people heavily rely.