Ms. Kyte was in Kigali for the three-day Sustainable Energy Forum for East Africa 2018 that kicked off on Monday.
In an exclusive interview with IGIHE on Tuesday, Kyte hailed the East African (EA) countries’ efforts towards providing universal access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to their populations as set out in goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that must be achieved by the year 2030.
She, however, noted that EA’s 25% energy access is still among the lowest in the world because it started from a low base and urged the EA countries to set aggressive targets and to move at the highest speed to ensure that energy access goal is achieved earlier because it is a precondition for other goals to be achieved by 2030.
Kyte said there isn’t any reason the region cannot achieve the goal considering its energy resources and technical potentials, calling for contribution of all stakeholders including governments, development partners, private sector, civil society and every citizen.
{ {{Below are interview’s excerpts:
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{{IGIHE: How do you perceive the state of renewable energy in the East African region and Rwanda in particular compared to other parts of the world?}}
{{Kyte:}} There is good news and bad news for East Africa. The good news is that there is abundant renewable energy in the region: hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, everything. There has been incredible innovation in East Africa particularly in helping low income people participate in economy. So the advance of using business models with renewable energy started in East Africa to inspire the world. The other part of the good news is that the East African countries are making incredible progress including in renewable energy sector in closing energy access gaps.
The bad news is that there is still a very long way to go. East Africa started the journey from a low base. It is still one of the parts of the world where energy access gap is the largest. We are not yet where we need to be, we need to move at big speed and scale to achieve the sustainable development goal 7. By energy access gap, I’m talking about one billion people in the world who do not have access to electricity, three billion people worldwide who don’t have access to the technology and fuels to cook cleanly.
The goal is to achieve universal energy access by 2030. In East Africa, the access is at 25%; so we have got a long way to go. It is however important to note that having energy access is important, but it is more important of what you can do with it.
{{What are the issues impeding effective development and use of renewable energy in this region and Rwanda in particular?
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When we think of sustainable energy, we think of three things happening at the same time. Energy system must be more efficient; so we have to use less power to do things. Secondly, we have universal access, everybody should have access. Thirdly, the energy mix should be cleaner; so there is need for more renewable energy.
In this forum, we are talking about what the East African governments can do to set more aggressive targets for energy efficiency and to improve the regulations and standards across the region. If East Africa has the same standards, that creates a bigger market for the private sector. Secondly, we are talking about what works for attracting investors in renewable energy for both the grid and off-grid. Thirdly, there is a lot of conversation about off-grid energy systems providing cheaper access to those people who do not have access. People in isolated areas, it is more likely that they will get affordable and reliable power from off-grid solutions like mini-grid or solar home systems.
Underpinning those three things is finance. Is finance available? Are the local banks lending enough into energy sector in particular to off-grid? Are the financial institutions supporting this sector enough? What can governments do? All this is being discussed.
{{What do you think of Rwanda’s higher focus on off-grid to achieve energy access by 2024?
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First of all, Rwanda has made incredible progress. When I first came to Rwanda (in 2008), people were talking aspirationally about Methane Gas from Kivu, about hydros on paper, about extending the grid, solar was an aspiration. Rwanda has now come a long way in a very short time. About grid or off grid, the leading countries in the world think about energy systems in an integrated way. So, there is no either or. There must be the grid, it must be as smart as possible, has to be efficient with no transmission losses, it has to be clean. And there must be mini-grids, solar, etc. So the consumer will choose what is better for them, but all must be made efficient and affordable. If the price is coming down, people can choose either grid or off-grid.
{{What do you think can make energy affordable to the most vulnerable people in East Africa?
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We are lucky that the energy technology has dropped in prices, at least by 75% in the last seven years. Prices of batteries for solar home systems have also dropped by 75%. There are many projects spreading solar home systems to rural communities here in Rwanda and government can step in with development partners to help set the prices affordable to the most vulnerable. We are even now looking at how we can provide renewable energy to displaced people, to refugee camps in countries like Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania because they host very large numbers of displaced people, the most vulnerable people in society.
The advance of technology makes it possible for the most vulnerable people to have access to power for, first, lighting and charging phones, then, to add appliances like television, refrigerators, etc; all this is thought about as a step towards economic prosperity and how to cook cleanly in a sustainable way. Here in Rwanda, you have got people who are innovating business models the rest of the world is looking at. For example, pellets for cooking. So, here in Rwanda, some of the things the world thinks can be solutions are happening, so it makes East Africa quite special.
About prices, it is good to understand what people can pay, to understand the market, understand what people will use energy for. Traditionally elsewhere in Africa, the focus was on subsidising the utility to make it very cheap perhaps cheaper than what can make the energy sustainable, only going for grid but without any support to off-grid. It is up to governments to balance grid and off-grid to give people access, not just rolling out the grid. It is about how the government approaches the problem because if energy is not affordable, people will not use it.
There is another issue; this is not an issue in Rwanda but it is an issue in other countries in East Africa: the social cost of dirty energy. Countries may not count the cost to their health systems, costs on people with respiratory diseases because of dirty energy. The good thing with renewable energy is that it does not pose those risks; it does not affect the way people breathe. So, by cutting off those costs, renewable energy becomes much cheaper.
{{What do you find as available potentials and opportunities that regional countries can exploit to develop their energy sector?
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EAC as a bloc can create a big market if members come together and will make it easier to achieve their goals. Governments should educate local financial institutions on supporting energy sector. The region has great solar capacity, great wind capacity, great geothermal capacity, hydro capacity and potential bio-fuels, the region has everything.
{{What should the regional governments do to provide affordable and sustainable energy to their populations?}}
For the families in the lowest income boundaries, it is the state’s responsibility to make sure the access to energy is established because that access will help with the family’s health, in the children’s education, etc; it is in the state’s interests. The poorest segment in the society can receive some assistance in paying electricity bills to maintain access; they can get subsidised on healthcare, meals, clean cook stoves and fuels.
{{Which role can private sector, civil society and each citizen play in the process?
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First of all, this region is ahead of many regions in the world in creativity and innovation, in private sector and civil society organisations (CSO) activities. So, you have got plenty of innovations providing energy services. The role of CSO is to keep government honest, to demand clean, affordable and reliable energy; to demand that the area is clean. Private sector needs a regulatory environment that allows investment to flow domestically from foreigners; good regulatory regime without changing tariffs; good subsidies, procurement regimes, etc. Private sector has to sell good products and government must ensure that the consumer is protected. When the three are together, there is no reason this region cannot meet its targets.
We believe that governments should set the targets for themselves to achieve universal energy access goal before 2030 because if you don’t meet the target, that means you don’t have healthcare, your education systems are not working well. So, we think countries should set targets to achieve energy access early because it is a precondition for the other goals to be achieved.
{{As the UN SG’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All, what’s your message to the region?
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My message is that there a lot of good things happening in the region, a lot of things that are working but we are not there yet; we need speed, we don’t need anyone behind. This region has the resource, has technical capacity to ensure that it doesn’t leave anyone behind. I now encourage everybody to check their ambition, to ensure that their ambition is high enough because I don’t think there is any reason this region cannot catch up and overtake the rest of the world.

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