Africa Electricity Data Transparency
54 African country profiles on electricity data: what data is available, where, and how good is it.
About
This report provides a reference guide of national sources of electricity data for every UN-member African country. We show where national electricity data can be found and evaluate the quality and usability of available data.
It is intended as a resource for researchers and analysts, whether in public, private or civil society sectors, to quickly find data where it is available.
This builds on our previous work evaluating data transparency in Asia and Oceania.
Executive Summary
Current data availability is limited
Key findings
- National electricity data is available for many countries in Africa, but the quality is generally low, with long lag times and inconsistent publishing frequency.
- Of the 54 countries evaluated, 23(> 40%) had either only very old national data available, or had none at all.
- South Africa scored the highest in our evaluation of data availability and quality, with no country scoring 5/5 in our rating
Country profiles
National electricity data
Country-by-country profiles and evaluation of national electricity data sources
This report is hosted in this slide pack. View it below, or download here as a PDF.
Conclusion
Open data will facilitate Africa’s electricity transition
Timely, reliable and publicly available data will be critical for informing and tracking Africa’s electricity transition.
Robust data can support efforts to ensure that projected demand growth is supplied by clean generation, while rooting out reliance on fossil fuels altogether.
As our report shows, current data availability is limited. This will need to change in order to foster transparent decision-making and accountability by African electricity planners across the continent.
Recommendations
Data transparency in Africa is improving. Many countries have new or updated national data sources that have been developed in the last few years. As Africa’s electric grid and ICT infrastructure both improve, it is likely that data availability and reliability will improve – but countries in Africa will need support to accelerate these developments.
Supporting materials
Acknowledgements
Header Image
Workers installing hybrid grid tied electrical installation of solar panels, inverters and backup batteries to combat loadshedding in South Africa
Credits: Suretha Rous / Alamy Banque D’Images
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