Rwanda Energy Situation

Overview

Republic of Rwanda
	Location Algeria.png
Capital	Kigali (1° 56′ 37.98″ S, 30° 3′ 34.02″ E)
Official language(s)	Kinyarwanda, French, English
Government	Republic
President	Paul Kagame
Prime Minister	Bernard Makuza
Total area	26,338 km2
Population	11,370,425 (2011 estimate)
GDP (nominal)	$6.055 billion
GDP Per capita	$1,284
Currency	Rwandan franc (RWF)
Time zone	CAT (UTC+2)
Calling code	+250

Energy situation

Rwanda‘s energy balance shows that about 85% of its overall primary energy consumption is based on biomass (99% of all households use biomass for cooking),11% from petroleum products (transport, electricity generation and industrial use) and 3% from hydro sources for electricity. In April 2011 about 14% of the total population had access to electricity from the grid and the government has started a roll-out programme to rapidly increase this to 16% (350 000 connections) by 2012 and 60% by 2020. 

The country has currently about 97 MW installed generating capacity (57 MW hydro and 40 MW diesel out of which, however, only 87 MW are available) a number of new sources are supposed to come on line within the coming years adding a capacity of 232 MW by 2013. This includes the hydro power site Nyaborongo with 27,5 MW in Muhanga and Ngororero Districts planned to come on line by February 2013 but currently experiencing delays, and numerous mini/micro hydro plants adding up to 35 MW. The new hydro power plant Rukarara located in Nyamagabe district, Southern Province, with 9.5 MW and costs of US$ 23.5 million was commissioned in January 2011. Construction for this plant had already started in 2007. An additional three BTC supported hydro power plants adding a capacity of about 2.2. MW were recently completed and are currently under commissioning.

Feasibility studies are under implementation for large dams with a total capacity of 400 MW or more, among those are studies for the hydro power plant Rusizi III, that could produce 145 MW and would be shared among Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi (resulting in a production of 48.3 MW for each of the three countries). It is expected to be completed by 2016. Rusizi IV is currently at the pre-feasibility study stage and has an estimated production capacity of 96 MW. Another feasibility study has been elaborated for the Rusumo plant expected to produce 90 MW and to be shared among Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda (30 MW to be produced for each country). It is planned to be completed by 2015. The first power production using methane gas from Lake Kivu started at the end of 2008 and private companies have been contracted to supply 250-300 MW by 2017. The currently utilized hydro capacity is 57 MW. However, the strong dependence on hydro power represents a risk which became evident in the 2004 energy crisis when a combination of drought and over-utilization led to a rapid draw down of the dam water levels leading to acute supply shortages. Although diversification of energy sources is a high priority, the Government of Rwanda continues to develop mainly hydro power as the least cost generation resource

GoR has the ambitious target to increase production capacity to 1 GW until 2017. The economic sectors with the highest potential for growth (agricultural processing, mining, tourism, IT) depend heavily on energy supply. The costs of electricity are very high at about US$0.21 per kWh.  At the same time, due to the lack of electricity in rural areas, this reduces the efficiency of the social services (health, education and administration). The Government has a programme to provide all health centres and administrative centres and 50% of the schools with solar power if they are too far from the grid by 2012 and extend provision further to 100% of all schools by 2017. A number of special programmes are already under implementation.

Generally, Rwanda is well endowed with renewable energy resources, but most potential still remains untapped. Micro hydro-power in particular constitutes a significant potential for rural power supply with many areas having ample rainfall and most streams and rivers unexploited. Solar irradiation is high - between 4-6 kWh/m²/day - but diffusion is hampered by high initial cost and limitations on high load usage. Biogas is promising for thermal energy needs for farms and small institutions, especially considering the large number of households that own cows and other livestock.

Hydro Sector

To address the low rural electricity access level and the relatively high cost of existing generation alternatives, the government has embarked upon a sizable Micro-hydro development programme to provide power to rural villages and towns. The projects are implemented in cooperation with a large number of Donor partners and often focused primarily on the construction phase. There are in total 23 Government initiated projects that aim to deliver an additional amount of 14.13MW.

Further advancements are also being made in the pico hydro power sector. Currently, there exist at least 21 hydro power plants below 50 kW. Their distribution per installed generation capacity is as follows:

 0 -  5 kW : 13

 5 - 25 kW:  4

25- 50 kW:  4

 

The PSP Hydro project will provide technical and business expertise to support the creation and development of economically sustainable small and micro energy providers. This will contribute to improve the power supply in Rwanda. . A MININFRA survey in 2007 prepared a micro hydro atlas which identified 333 sites for small and micro hydro power which can be used for mini-grids or connected to the national grid, depending on the location. There have already been a number of projects implemented through the Ministry with assistance of UNIDO, BTC and the EU. These are constructed under direct supervision of the ministry and once operational, will be managed through private companies. To facilitate the privatization process PSP Hydro has financed a study to identify best practices in the privatization of micro hydro power plants and is in the process of carrying out technical and financial audits for the first five sites to be privatized on a pilot basis.

Biomass Sector

Biomass (firewood, charcoal and residues) remains practically the only source for cooking for many years to come as electricity will remain too expensive in the medium future. LPG consumption is extremely low (consumption per capita is 1/50 only of Kenya, the market leader in the region) while kerosene is practically only used for lighting. For the urban areas wood and charcoal will remain the most import sources of fuel for cooking while in rural areas households mainly rely on agricultural residues (with its negative impacts on soil fertility) and collected wood. The Government‘s Vision 2020 asks for a reduction of biomass consumption by 50% by 2020, but is it not clear what the alternative sources of energy will be. Government programmes have focused on the increase of wood production (already 80% of the country‘s firewood and charcoal come from eucalyptus) through plantations and agro forestry programmes. The Government enforces very strict tree cutting laws and permits are required for cutting of all trees, even eucalyptus from private lands. This has partly resulted in inefficiencies in the wood and charcoal production and legislation should be adapted to address this issue. Also the use of wood for brick burning is virtually impossible in the country. All these measures have resulted in the remarkable achievement of reducing deforestation and keeping the remaining natural forests in Rwanda very well protected. These forests are even recovering from the war damage in the 1990s while planted and renewable Eucalyptus trees provide 80% or more of the required fire wood and charcoal. Furthermore, strong efforts are made to increase efficiency in charcoal production and the use of improved stoves. Already 60% of all households have improved stoves (different models depending on the fuel used - either the Kenyan Ceramic Jiko for charcoal in towns or mud stoves in the rural areas) and the Government wants to increase this percentage to 100% by 2012 while at the same time improving the efficiencies of the improved stoves. There are a number of special programmes to increase efficiency in charcoal production and to improve and disseminate better cook stoves.

 

Biogas

Biogas has been introduced in the country many years ago and Rwanda has gained international recognition for its programme in prisons and large institutions. The Government in 2008 announced a policy to introduce biogas digesters in all boarding schools (estimated at around 600 schools), large health centres and institutions with canteens to reduce the consumption of firewood. This process started in 2010 but until today the focus has been mainly on installations for schools. In total, about 50 large biogas digesters have been constructed in institutions in Rwanda and the biogas systems that have been installed in the prisons over the last decade have reduced firewood consumption by up to 40% and improved hygienic conditions.

Activities in the domestic biogas sector started much later. It is estimated that over 120,000 households have dairy cows that are kept under zero grazing conditions to reduce soil erosion and also due to lack of grazing areas. These numbers are increasing due to the governments programmes to increase the number of families with dairy cows. The National Domestic Biogas Programme started in 2007 with the construction of 101 pilot digesters funded by the Ministry and with technical assistance from SNV. GIZ/EnDev inputs became available in January 2008. Since then the focus has been on capacity development, training of technicians and entrepreneurs, awareness campaigns and promotion. As a result, by spring 2011 a total of 1200 biogas digesters had been constructed, over 200 masons had been trained and approximately 40 companies were actively involved in the programme.

PV Sector

Rwanda’s PV market is still nascent and primarily dominated by the institutional market driven by the needs of rural health and education service providers. Much of the installations have been fully grant financed by donors with limited government coordination at the national level. This has resulted in a broad range of different technologies and standards being applied by different projects and limited involvement of local companies in procurement and installation. Lack of funds and knowledge about proper maintenance have led to an array of technical problems including malfunctioning batteries, faulty wiring, broken DC-appliances. A study commissioned by one of the largest donors in the institutional health PV market, PEPFAR, makes four recommendations to improve the performance of institutional PV systems: 1) to specify energy systems suitable for Rwandan health facilities, 2) to assist partners to develop a clear design, installation and after-service process, 3) to help develop the quality chain through provision of capacity building activities and enforcement of standards and practices, 4) to coordinate regular meetings between key stakeholders.

Apart from institutional PV applications, solar water heating is increasingly gaining importance to replace biomass and electricity as the primary water heating sources. Therefore, it is planned to make solar water heating mandatory for all new constructions in the country. In order to support and promote this process a subsidy scheme was recently designed by the Government.

In addition, the first larger-scale solar project, Kigali Solaire project, has been established on the outskirts of Kigali, producing 250 kW of electricity to be fed into the grid. This is the largest one established in all of sub-Saharan Africa until now.  However, projects of this extent and scope will remain limited and the focus will remain on smaller solar PV installations to provide institutions with solar energy as well as on the development of a market for solar home systems and small solar lighting applications. This is partly due to the general lack of financing for large scale projects which could be overcome in the case of Kigali Solaire due to the project being funded and implemented by Stadtwerke Mainz.

 

Key problems of the energy sector

The following problems are noted for the energy sector:

• 1. Access to electricity remains low and in particular so in the rural areas. Even if roll out plans are implemented as scheduled 40% of the population will still remain without electricity by 2020. Additional efforts are required to provide electricity to those who will not be close to the national grid,
• 2. Costs of new connections are at least $100/household, including subsidies from the public utility EWSA without which costs would amount to a staggering $ 1200/ connection, and are beyond the reach of most households in Rwanda. The roll out programme is supported by the development partners through a sector wide approach. The funds available exceed $280m for a period of 4 years
• 3. Generally, there is a lack of entrepreneurial capacity in the country and this hampers small commercial electricity projects,
• 4. The increasing population and rising incomes per capita will result in a higher demand for cooking energy,
• 5. The Government wants a reduction of the consumption of biomass (firewood/ charcoal) but there are only few alternatives such as LPG and kerosene. However, these are more expensive while electricity is no real option due to the high costs and the low connection rate.

Policy framework, laws and regulations

The energy sector in Rwanda is governed by the Government’s Vision 2020 and the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) into which future energy development plans have been mainstreamed. These documents have  been complemented by a national Energy Policy and a 7-year Electricity Development Strategy and </span>set out ambitious electricity access targets which are supposed to be reached through </span>the implementation of the five year Electricity Access Roll-Out Programme (EARP) (2009-2013). The international donor community has pledged 228 M$ to support the EARP.

Vision 2020 (published in 2000) is Rwanda‘s long-term development blueprint seeking to transform the country into a middle income position. The policy statement includes a pillar on infrastructural development, including energy with high priority to access to electricity for the population but also a reduction of the use of wood energy from 94% in 2000 to 50% in 2020. The EDPRS refers to Vision 2020 and for the energy sector has four main elements:

• a) Increased access to electricity for enterprises, households, health centres, schools and local government administrative offices,
• b) Reduced costs of supply of electricity and the cost of imported petroleum products,
• c) Diversified sources of energy supply and enhanced energy security, and
• d) Strengthened governance framework and institutional capacity.

The EDPRS requires the increase of electricity generation from a variety of sources such as hydro and methane gas. It specifically asks for at least 50 MW of additional hydro power to be installed before 2012. The EDPRS has specific targets for the number of electricity connections to be reached by 2012 (initial target 200,000 but this has been increased to 350,000), 100% of all health and social centres to be connected to the grid or equipped with PV systems and 50% of all schools covered. The power supply grid had an extension of about 5284 km in 2010 and has therefore already exceeded the target of 5,000 km to be reached by 2012. There are also targets given for improved cook stoves (from 40 – 100% coverage, currently 60% of the population have been reached) and 20% of cattle farmers using biogas. The Ministry has updated its energy policy 2008 – 2012 covering the EDPRS period with assistance from the EUEI. The policy covers all types of energy: electricity, biomass, petroleum, methane gas, geothermal, wind, PV etc. It was complemented by the 7-year Electricity Development Strategy which has further developed the targets set out within the EDPRS and has adapted them to the time period until 2017. Moreover, an Electricity Law was passed recently that governs </span>activities of electric power production, transmission, distribution and trading. The Law sets the framework for the liberalization of the electricity sector and explicitly aims to promote private investments in the sector.

In addition, </span>a specific Biomass Energy Strategy (BEST) was developed in 2008 which focuses on sustainable wood supply with specific attention to urban charcoal consumption and to a lesser extent the use of firewood in rural areas.

Planned changes to the regulatory framework include the publication of renewable energy feed-in tariffs (REFITs) as well as standardised long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to increase security for investments of independent power producers (IPPs) by the end of 2011. By 2012 a Renewable Energy Strategy (REST) will be developed which will address renewable energy sources other than wood. For the hydro power sector, by the start of 2012 a study will determine specific improvements in the regulatory framework conditions in order to increase private sector engagement in the sub-sector.

 

Some of the most important aspects of the policies for the EnDev programme are:

1. Electricity tariffs which are currently around 0.21 US$/kWh but are subject to further studies and recommendations in order to reduce the costs to consumers and businesses,

2. The soon-to-be implemented REFIT scheme for which tariff levels are currently still under discussion and the main problem is the lack of capacity of the relevant public institutions to effectively and successfully implement the emerging and existing policies and strategies.

3. The ambitious targets of the Government for the grid connection of households which, even if achieved, will still leave 40% of the population without access to electricity thereby highlighting the need for off-grid supply of electricity.

4. The two key interventions of the PSP Hydro project, the development of MHP plants to increase power capacity in the country and the consolidation of the participation of private MHP developers in the energy sector, are in line with the national energy policy and complementary to the Government‘s efforts.

5. In the biomass sector a three pronged approach is recommended

a) on the supply side, increased wood production through higher yields,

b) higher efficiency in the value chain through improved legislation, more efficient charcoal techniques and improved cook stoves, and

c) Promotion of alternatives such as LPG, kerosene and peat.

Institutional set up in the energy sector

A number of ministries and agencies play a significant role in the energy sector depending on the type of energy and the nature of activities covered. The most important institutions are listed below with a short description of their role.

Electricity Sector

The Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA) is responsible for the overall coordination of activities in the energy sector and for the strategies, planning and monitoring of the implementation of the different programmes. The ministry also plays an important role in attracting private sector investment and coordinating support of development partners. The public utility company Reco/ Rwasco was merged and became the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA) which is responsible for the implementation of programmes. This constitutes an important change to the previous institutional set up according to which the tasks of policy making and implementation were undertaken by one single institution, MININFRA.
Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) is among others responsible for ensuring that electricity tariffs reflect recurrent costs as well as for the approval and registration of all energy activities. The role of the private sector has been limited in the past but the Government is encouraging electricity production through PPPs at a large scale (for example Lake Kivu methane projects) as well as in the hydro power sector to support management and construction.

 

Micro Hydro

There are only few private enterprises in the hydro power sector able to produce turbines. Currently three stable workshops are active in the manufacturing of pico-turbines: ASM and Chez Silvere both in Kigali and COFORWA in Muhanga.

Apart from these three workshops, the workshop at the Don Bosco School in Kimihurura, Kigali manufactured several pico-turbines in the 70s and 80s when it was managed by a religious institution. In addition, two more workshops ABEM (Kicukiro, Kigali) having experiences with manufacturing components of wind turbines and water pumps and SOTIRU (Musanze/North)) maintaining 3 MHPPs are capable but not manufacturing pico hydro turbines at the moment.

On the governmental level district governments play an important role in the decentralized governance structure in Rwanda and have the capacity to authorize the installation of MHP plants and mini grids in their territory.

Biomass Sector

The Ministry of Infrastructure focuses on efficient use of the available biomass resources through improved charcoaling and stove technologies. A number of efficiency programs in the energy sector are being implemented(through contracts with Practical Action and CAMCO from Kenya) and alternatives such as biogas for domestic use and for institutions, LPG, kerosene, peat and papyrus briquettes are being investigated and promoted. The Ministry of Forestry and Mines and its agency NAFA is responsible for the regulations and the management of natural forests, plantations. The Ministry of Agriculture is promoting agro forestry which also is a source of biomass. The Ministry of Local Government, through the district and sector authorities, is responsible for the implementation of forestry laws, the issuance of tree cutting and charcoal production permits and protection of the natural environment.

Solar Energy Sector

Only few companies in Rwanda are active in the field of solar energy. They focus mainly on the market for larger systems for public institutions, e.g. hospitals, schools etc through public tenders. In addition they and others are also trying to sell solar home systems but the market for solar lanterns and small home systems is still in its infancy. Recently, an increasing focus on solar water heating systems has also emerged. The most important companies are:

1. Sam Dargan, a young American entrepreneur from Great lakes Energy Solar power who claims to have outlets in most districts through local dealers and is selling maybe 100 units/month or more. He sells products from Barefoot, D-Light and other suppliers that are being tested through Lighting Africa programme
2. The Koinonia Foundation assembles and sells pico PV lanterns here in Kigali and is selling in the regions.
3. Lights for Life which is promoting the nURU head lamps which are strapped to the head. They are working with UOMB micro finance
4. There are suppliers/shops in town which are selling portable lamps of all different sizes and qualities. For instance Davis and Shirliff which is a company which has been trading in Eastern Africa for decades in similar products. 

Sector-comprehensive organizations and institutions:

Rwanda</span> Environment Management Authority (REMA): this institution has to approve the environmental suitability of all projects including the electricity and distribution electricity activities in the country.

Private Sector Federation (PSF): most of the private companies in Rwanda are registered at the PSF. This institution guarantees the application of good practices within the private sector. The Rwandan Development Board is promoting foreign (and local) investment and plays an intermediary role in many large investments.

PSP Hydro works in coordination with all these institutions. Their collaboration is essential in order to obtain the necessary permissions. In addition, PSP Hydro advises these institutions whenever this is required and keeps them informed about the progress of the ongoing activities.

Activities of other donors and implementing agencies in the energy sector 

In March 2009 the Ministry entered into a sector wide programme with the developing partners that are involved in the energy sector. This has resulted in a large scale programme for the roll out of the electricity network and the increase of household connections from currently over 200.000 to 350.000 by 2012. The costs of this programme are estimated at US$ 380 million and will be implemented mainly through EWSA. The Government and EWSA are contributing 20% of the budget while the balance is provided by the donors including the WB, ADB, Arab Funds, EU, BTC, DGIS, JICA and others. The implementation has started in 2009.

There are a few programmes in the energy sector that are more directly related to the EnDev programme as these are activities in the hydro and biomass sector but none directly engaged in the biogas area. The most relevant programmes are:

1) GVEP is working with MININFRA to implement projects under the WB funded ESME programme which  supports the renewable energy sector in particular hydro power, pico solar, and institutional capacity building. In order to do so GVEP and MININFRA will copy the PSP Hydro approach.

2) DFID has developed a results based financing scheme to support renewable energy enterprises in the solar PV, micro hydro and institutional biogas sector. The programme will be implemented by GIZ.

3) In collaboration with UNIDO, the GoR executed  four micro hydro power plants namely: Nyamyotsi I, Nyamyotsi II, Mutobo and Agatobwe. .One of the projects: Nyamyotsi I, a 100 KW micro hydro power plant was inaugurated and became operational in 2007. Two others started operating in 2010 and the last one became operational in early 2011. Close to 2000 households have been connected to the grid there and small and medium enterprises are developing their businesses using the new power.

4) 8 Government funded hydro power plants which are in in various stages of progress. These will constitute a total production capacity of 6.4 MW.

5) BTC programme funding the construction of 5 SHPPs out of which 3 had been completed by mid 2011 and are currently being commissioned. Costs of the construction are supported by BTC, however, the management of the plants remains unclear. They will be handed over to MININFRA after being commissioned and are likely to be privatized. In addition, BTC participates in rural electrification based on photovoltaic systems through EPRER and is currently in the process of establishing a Wind Atlas. Basic data for the latter became available at the end of 2010.

6) The EC supports in particular two areas: i) energy solutions for off-grid public institutions such as health centers, schools, ii) micro hydro plants (total budget is € 50 million). The aim of electrifying public institutions is to equip around 350 schools, hospitals, and district offices with PV systems. For micro-hydro the objective is to develop through private sector intervention about 3 MW capacities of micro-hydro electricity plants in 3 to 15 sites serving up to 70 villages. Two of these sites are established in cooperation with BTC, Rukarara II which is operational and Ntaruka A which is soon to be constructed. The idea is to build on the current GIZ initiative.

7) Forestry programmes by BTC (with additional funding of the Netherlands and agro forestry programmes (MINAGRI/IFDC with Netherlands funding) to increase supply of (fire) wood.

8) The Ministry of Infrastructure has a number of programmes to support the efficient production and use of biomass focusing on regulation, cookstoves and charcoal kilns. These programmes are funded through the Government budget and implemented through contracts with Practical Action and CAMCO.

9) The WB/GEF prepared a programme of US$ 5m to support the energy sector. The programme works in a number of areas including:

a) private sector development and entrepreneurship development through an incubation approach,

b) support to the private sector in the micro hydro area,

c) promotion of PV and stand alone renewable energy systems,

d) support to the biomass sector through promotion of improved stoves and charcoal kilns.

The WB also supports the national electricity access roll out programme that focuses on grid extension and intensification.

10) USAID support to the energy sector is mostly indirect by financing health sector infrastructure as part of the PEPFAR programme. PEPFAR has identified energy supply to health centers as a major bottleneck for delivering quality health services.

11) The French Development Agency through its debt relief programme for Rwanda is providing support to the national electricity access programme.

 

12) The Saudi Fund for Development and BADEA in a joint project are financing part of the electricity access programme.

 

13) The Opec Fund for International Development is contributing to the electricity access project.

14) Practical Action implemented a project which focused on quality improvement and market introduction of improved charcoal stoves for urban areas (KCJ-type).

15) WORLD VISION and CARE INTERNATIONAL both are working on promotion of improved fire wood stoves in rural areas.