Oil and gas are the new frontiers in the DRC’s extractive industries and the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Crispin Atama Tabe, has communicated the vision that this sector will be the source of more than half the Congolese budget in the future.

The proverbial axe is falling on 'business as usual' as every industry in South Africa, from mining to manufacturing to retail, is cringing at the thought of rising energy tariffs and the impending implementation of a carbon tax.

Christmas is a great time to introduce energy saving habits into a household as many easy and simple changes in the way we live can end up putting extra money into your pocket.  Higher electricity prices in South Africa have become an increasing strain on consumers’ monthly expenses and Eskom recently announced that it had applied to the state regulator Nersa to further increase the price of electricity by 16% every year.  This means that South Africans could on average pay just over double the current electricity price by 2018.

The advisory board and management of Clean Power Africa, which is co-located with African Utility Week in May 2013, invites submissions of abstracts for papers and panel proposals for the HYDROPOWER ELEMENT of the 2013 conference to be held from 14 – 15 May 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa.  Pre-conference workshops to be held on 13 May 2013.

The advisory board and management of East African Power Industry Convention invites submissions of abstracts for papers and  proposals for panel discussions for the 2013 EAPIC conference to be held from 10 – 11 September 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. Pre-conference workshops to be held on 09 September 2013, and proposals for these will also be accepted.

The Ethiopian Minister of Water & Energy, H.E Alemayehu Tegenu, and Miheret Debebe, Chief Executive Officer of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) have this week confirmed their attendance at Powering Africa: Ethiopia, a strategic investment meeting taking place from the 14-15 January 2013 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Addis Ababa.

The increasing interest in doing business in the DRC was evident at the recent annual Katanga Mining Briefing and iPAD* DRC which gathered more than 800 participants in the capital of Kinshasa and the prominent mining hub Lubumbashi, with attendees that included regional and national government leaders, sector specialists and international mining houses.  Both events are organised by the Cape Town-based Spintelligent, which is part of Clarion Events.

Written by Claire Volkwyn, Director:  Content and Strategy, Spintelligent

Lagos, Nigeria: For many, the announcement of the preferred bidders for the  GenCos (generation companies) and Discos (distribution company) in Nigeria would appear to be the culmination of years of planning for the total reform of the Nigerian power sector.  Yet, in many ways, the race is only now starting, as bidders work to meet their financial obligations to the Nigerian government.