Mali Energy Situation
1.1 Energy Sector
Mali is among the least developed countries with 65% of its 12 million people living below the poverty line. Households (mostly rural poor) consume 86% of Mali’s energy, (road) transport 10%, industry (mainly mining) 3% and agriculture 1%. 80 % of total energy consumption is based on firewood and charcoal (increasing by 3% and 10% anually). Oil products account for 16% (annual increase 10%), placing a heavy financial burden on the national economy which is wholly dependent on oil imports. Electricity accounts for only 3% of Mali’s energy consumption and less than 10% of the total population is connected to the national grid. Mali's power grid covers only a few urban areas, leaving more than 99% of the rural population without access to electricity. However, only fractions of Mali’s huge renewable power generating potential (hydro, solar) are exploited. In recent years, the necessity of tapping these resources for rural electrification was clearly identified. Encouraged by donors (e.g. World Bank, KfW), executing organisations (AMADER, CNESOLER) were created as well as programmes (PRODER, PEDASB) in order to provide sustainable access to modern energy to the majority of Mali’s population which has not been served to date.
1.2 Problem Situation
“Development in Mali means the commune plus electrification”. Reality in Mali’s basic institutions of local government is far away from that national slogan. While supply with household energy is already extremely scarce, the availability of electricity in particular in rural areas is even worse (only 0.4% of rural citizens served).
The existing national electrification policies are not yet ready to close the existing energy gap: EDM, the state energy utility, is expected to reach only 60 urban locations through the national grid. Mali's Agency for Domestic Energy and Rural Electrification (AMADER) seems to be completely surpassed by the task to provide the off-grid majority of 700 rural communes (11.000 villages) with access to electricity. Both institutions have neither the capacity nor the resources to achieve their national goal. Most remote rural areas will not be targeted and even if there are no local capacities available which could implement the ambitious programmes. They also insufficiently interlink electricity provision with decentralisation politics, fail to involve the local municipalities in planning and opperating the energy facilities which is crucially important to ensure their long-term sustainability. Without tapping this potential of participatory communal development, the national goal of supplying “720,000 households with electricity” will be out of reach.
The fact that the local government is not able to deliver even basic public services does undermine its credibility and legitimicy among the population. If the municipalities could, by the intervention of Energising Development, provide a functioning access to energy, as a vital part of public services, the municipal could demonstrate its commitment for service delivery and development activities. It would enable them to gain trust and legitimicy among the population and also act as a role model for other types of public services.
