The 2026 SADC Sustainable Energy Week opened on Wednesday by Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga amid revelations that the region now boasts one of the highest average electricity access rates on the continent.
Chiwenga said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) must accelerate investment to unlock the continent’s vast renewable energy potential, despite holding nearly 60 percent of the world’s most abundant solar, wind, hydro and biomass resources.
“It is disheartening that although Africa is endowed with nearly 60 percent of the world’s most abundant renewable energy resources including solar, wind, hydro and biomass we have harnessed only a fraction of this immense potential,” Chiwenga said.
SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi reported that the region’s average electricity access rate has reached 56 percent — ahead of the East African Community’s 39 percent and the Economic Community for West African States’ 53 percent.
“Electricity access in the SADC Region shows progress alongside persistent gaps. We must continue intensifying efforts to expand electricity access through innovative financing mechanisms, rural electrification agencies, and diversified technological approaches,” Magosi said.
He said total installed generation capacity now stands at 83,055 megawatts but warned that the energy mix remains dominated by coal and hydropower, leaving the region vulnerable to climate shocks such as the 2024–2025 droughts that sharply reduced hydro output.
Magosi highlighted progress since the inaugural Energy Week in 2025, noting that 11 of the 16 Member States have completed National Energy Compacts under Mission 300, a rapid rise from four countries a year earlier.
The compacts aim to expand energy access, scale off‑grid solutions and strengthen political commitment to universal access.
He also pointed to major regional infrastructure developments, including the near‑completion of the Malawi–Mozambique interconnector, expected to be commissioned by June 2026, and World Bank‑financed works on the Tanzania–Zambia interconnector, due in 2028.
Once completed, the latter will connect two of the remaining three mainland countries to the Southern African Power Pool.
All SADC Member States now have national energy regulators, following recent progress in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Comoros.
However, Magosi cautioned that the region faces an US$18 billion financing gap for priority projects under the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (2023–2027).
He urged partners to support the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund to mobilise the required capital.
The week‑long meeting has brought together Energy Ministers, cooperating partners, private sector leaders and technical experts under the theme “Driving Regional Growth through Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency.”
The 2027 edition of SADC Sustainable Energy Week will be hosted by Eswatini.
JN/APA