Since October 2020, the project “Rural Electrification in Togo” (ProEnergie) has been implementing the initiative “Energy Self-Sufficient Villages” under the umbrella of Green People’s Energy. This is a ministerial initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in the countries of Benin, Madagascar and Togo and aims to provide access to energy technologies or services for private households, social institutions, and businesses.
In Togo, the national energy agency (Agence Togolaise d’Electrification Rurale et des Energies Renouvelables (AT2ER)) is responsible for installing two solar hybrid minigrids in the villages of Kamina and Afo Sala as part of the initiative.
A financing agreement for 825,000 euros was signed between GIZ and the Ministry of Energy (Ministère de l’énergie et des mines (MDEM)), which will provide these funds to AT2ER to implement the project and manage the funds. The signing of the contract for this initiative took place on 08 December 2021 in the presence of the German Ambassador, Mr Matthias Veltin, between the Country Director of GIZ in Togo, Dr Markus Wagner, and the Minister of Energy and Mines, Ms Mila Aziable.
With a total capacity of 865 kWh, the two mini-grids will connect about 8000 people and eight social institutions such as schools, health centres and others to the two decentralised electricity grids and provide access to clean and affordable energy. The implementation of these mini-grids will pay special attention to productive use, community infrastructure, gender equity and social inclusion considerations. All of this is achieved through a public-private partnership that combines the expertise of the private sector operator with remuneration in the form of public sector grants through a financing mechanism. Under this financing mechanism, the public subsidies are only paid after the achievement of predefined milestones (so-called results-based-financing, RBF).
In her speech, Minister Mawunyo Mila Aziablé highlighted the cooperation between Togo and Germany. She also recalled that one of the Togolese government’s goals is to guarantee 75% access to electricity by 2025, while ensuring a diversified energy mix that includes at least 50% renewable energy.
The implementation of the Energy Self-Sufficient Villages initiative is a big leap forward in achieving this goal.
