60% of Sudan’s population don’t have access to electricity: official

April 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company (SEDC) has revealed that only 40% of the population has access to electricity compared to 90% in neighbouring countries.

SEDC’s director, Ali Abdel-Rahman, who addressed the opening session of the states’ 4th power grid conference in El-Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state on Thursday, underscored that electrical supply will cover the whole country by 2031.

“Despite our efforts, the figures of electricity production and consumption are modest. We are currently working on increasing numbers of beneficiaries from electricity,” he said

He added that in spite of the stability of electrical supply, the percentage of beneficiaries is only 40%.

Abdel-Rahman pointed that SEDC launched the solar power electricity project for houses in order to cover the deficit in electricity production following the successful experience of North Kordofan state.

He said that the thermal power sector is experiencing major difficulty because it consumes large amounts of gasoline to produce thermal electricity, disclosing that the Al-Foula electricity grid would function soon after it has been included in the national grid.

The state’s minister at the ministry of electricity, Tabita Butrus Showkai, has called for North Kordofan’s solar energy project to be extended to the rest of the country, as well as the electrification of agricultural projects, demanding that solar energy also be introduced to rural areas by 2031.

(ST)