The National Energy Fund (FUNAE) has emphasized the need for greater private sector participation in the expansion of energy supply through small grids, which currently account for 7% of the country’s electricity grid.
“The regulatory framework has been adjusted to allow the private sector to support this process of expanding the grid through mini-grids,” Isália Munguambe, president of FUNAE, told Lusa during a meeting of the Coordinating Council of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, in the Mossuril district of Nampula province.
Mozambique has a power grid coverage of 54%, of which 7% is represented by small autonomous grids, which run mainly on renewable energy and are an alternative in rural areas not reached by the national grid.
To strengthen the capacity of these alternative systems to the national grid, FUNAE has drawn up the Off-Grid Electrification Plan, which will soon open calls for private sector funding.
“The plan aims to promote private sector investment in this type of network. The participation of partners in these projects helps to reduce the need for state investment,” he emphasized.
According to official figures, the country, which aims to achieve universal access to energy by 2030, has a total of 97 small networks spread mainly in rural areas, complementing the national electricity grid.
