EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf
EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf
EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
A.2 Electricity Sector Analysis<br />
A stunning 70% or more of <strong>Pacific</strong> people lack electricity. 37 Those that do have electricity<br />
face high costs and unreliable supply. <strong>The</strong>re are many reasons: poor management, poor<br />
maintenance and high system losses, but also inherent difficulties with small size, few<br />
economies of scale, and few indigenous, low cost renewable resources.<br />
Most countries in the <strong>Pacific</strong> region suffer from having few primary energy sources from<br />
which to generate electricity. Typically in the <strong>Pacific</strong>, petroleum products account for some<br />
80% of primary commercial energy consumption for transportation and energy. Just under<br />
half of this is used for diesel-fired electricity generation units 38 . Renewable energy, mostly<br />
mini-hydro, contributes less than 10% of commercial energy use.<br />
Neither can many <strong>Pacific</strong> countries, because of their small size and separation by a large<br />
expanse of ocean which defines their geography, enjoy the benefit of economies of scale in<br />
electricity generation and distribution. In some areas, the widely dispersed populations, low<br />
population densities and the topography of their countries make rural electrification<br />
expensive and difficult to afford.<br />
A.1.2 Benchmarking<br />
In this section, we examine the performance of <strong>Pacific</strong> and other similar countries. First, we<br />
present comparative information on access to electricity services. We then analyze the<br />
relative scale of operations across the region, and the performance indicators in each<br />
country.<br />
Access to Electricity<br />
Figure A9 gives an overview of access to electricity in <strong>Pacific</strong> and comparator countries.<br />
Access levels in most <strong>Pacific</strong> countries are low when compared with other countries of a<br />
similar size and GDP per capita such as St Lucia, Dominica and Grenada.<br />
37 ADB Technical Assistance Report on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program for the <strong>Pacific</strong>, April 2003 p1<br />
38 ADB Technical Assistance Report on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program for the <strong>Pacific</strong>, April 2003.<br />
90