{"id":13977,"date":"2016-02-11T06:36:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T06:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/?p=13977"},"modified":"2016-11-28T16:26:15","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T16:26:15","slug":"electrify-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/electrify-africa","title":{"rendered":"Obama Signs A Law That Could Bring Power To At Least 50 million People In Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"a6b39195b99473d6c9dd698db2668010\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:2px 0 2px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<center>\r\n\r\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\r\nfunction ShorterThan(widthMax) {\r\n                if (screen.width < widthMax) {return true;}  \r\n                else {return false}\r\n    }\r\nvar LimitWidth = 728\r\nvar MobileZoneID = 348996\r\nvar DesktopZoneID = 348995   \r\n<!--\/\/<![CDATA[\r\n   document.MAX_ct0 ='';\r\n   var m3_u = (location.protocol=='https:'?'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?':'https:\/\/cas.criteo.com\/delivery\/ajs.php?');\r\n   var m3_r = Math.floor(Math.random()*99999999999);\r\n   document.write (\"<scr\"+\"ipt type='text\/javascript' src='\"+m3_u);\r\n   if (ShorterThan(LimitWidth)) {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+MobileZoneID);} else {document.write (\"zoneid=\"+DesktopZoneID);}\r\n   document.write(\"&nodis=1\");\r\n   document.write ('&cb=' + m3_r);\r\n   if (document.MAX_used != ',') document.write (\"&exclude=\" + document.MAX_used);\r\n   document.write (document.charset ? '&charset='+document.charset : (document.characterSet ? '&charset='+document.characterSet : ''));\r\n   document.write (\"&loc=\" + escape(window.location));\r\n   if (document.referrer) document.write (\"&referer=\" + escape(document.referrer));\r\n   if (document.context) document.write (\"&context=\" + escape(document.context));\r\n   if ((typeof(document.MAX_ct0) != 'undefined') && (document.MAX_ct0.substring(0,4) == 'http')) {\r\n       document.write (\"&ct0=\" + escape(document.MAX_ct0));\r\n   }\r\n   if (document.mmm_fo) document.write (\"&mmm_fo=1\");\r\n   document.write (\"'><\/scr\"+\"ipt>\");\r\n\/\/]]>--><\/script>\r\n<\/center>\n<\/div>\n<p>U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Electrify Africa Act into law. The act could bring power to at least 50 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Improving lives<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The act unanimously passed the House of Representatives and Senate. Through a system of loans, 20,000 megawatts of electricity will be added to the continent&#8217;s grid by 2020. Tennessee Senator Bob Corker and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who sponsored the act, said that it consists in:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c<strong>Creating a favorable environment for private investment to bring reliable, affordable electricity to millions of people in Africa for the first time can be a real game changer in development throughout the region. By establishing an-all-of- the-above approach for expanding power generation in Africa through private capital, we can help reduce poverty and fuel economic growth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce called the act a game changer for businesses and schools without enough electricity. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u00a0\u201cToo many families resort to using charcoal or other toxic fuel sources, whose fumes cause more deaths than HIV\/Aids and malaria, combined,\u201d he pointed out. <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Senator Ben Cardin added that the plan will help address poverty and aid economic growth.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13981\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13981\" style=\"width: 727px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13981\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/10005722-30udlethiopia-us-diplomacyjpg.jpeg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"727\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/10005722-30udlethiopia-us-diplomacyjpg.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/10005722-30udlethiopia-us-diplomacyjpg-600x337.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/10005722-30udlethiopia-us-diplomacyjpg-85x48.jpeg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13981\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/a.bimg.dk\/node-images\/5\/10\/2200x\/10005722-30udlethiopia-us-diplomacyjpg.jpeg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>A long-term solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The act took about two years to pass through both houses of Congress. Initially, it was criticized for not having a regional approach or a long-term commitment. The Obama administration worked hard to rectify these issues. The legislation is designed to continue after Obama finishes his presidency. The government had committed $7 billion and received $43 billion in pledges from public and private partners. There is a strategy spanning several years. The main objectives are to increase power production, reliability, and affordability, strengthen electrical infrastructure, maximize financial sustainability, and to improve non-discriminatory access to power. The act also outlines a few reforms that sub-Saharan African governments need to undertake in order to reap the benefits of private investment. This includes reforms that allow third parties to connect to the grid, permit independent power producers and public-private partnerships to participate, and encourage private sector investment.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13982\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13982\" style=\"width: 715px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-13982\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/obama.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"715\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/obama.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/obama-600x337.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/obama-85x48.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13982\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/infotrust.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Obama.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Positive reactions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nonprofit organization Oxfam America <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfamamerica.org\/press\/oxfam-reaction-to-electrify-africa-act-2015-becoming-law\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">responded positively to the news<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Sasanka Thilakasiri, the Senior Policy Advisor for Climate Change &amp; Energy, said in a statement:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00a0<strong>&#8220;Oxfam applauds the signing of the Electrify Africa Act of 2015, which aims to provide electricity access to people in sub-Saharan Africa, an area where a lack of access to electricity severely cripples the livelihoods and development of over 600 million people.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Oxfam had helped improve the legislation. Their research shows that sustainable and renewable energy is the best method for developing nations in Africa. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;Oxfam looks forward to continue working with the Obama Administration and Congress to ensure that the energy and development needs of the poor are being met through programs like the Electrify Africa Act and Power Africa Initiative.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13983\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13983\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13983\" src=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/dado-sade-senegal-2-1220x763.jpg\" alt=\"source\" width=\"700\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/dado-sade-senegal-2-1220x763.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/dado-sade-senegal-2-1220x763-600x375.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/dado-sade-senegal-2-1220x763-85x53.jpg 85w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13983\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.oxfamamerica.org.s3.amazonaws.com\/politicsofpoverty\/2014\/05\/Dado-Sade-Senegal-2-1220x763.jpg\">source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/solar-plant\">SEE ALSO:\u00a0Morocco Is Building World\u2019s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Electrify Africa Act into law. The act could bring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":13981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46,110],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Obama Signs A Law That Could Bring Power To At Least 50 million People In Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is called the Electrify Africa Act.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afrizap.com\/en\/electrify-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Obama Signs A Law That Could Bring Power To At Least 50 million People In Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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