Insufficient transmission system capacity is the main bottleneck in Africa’s power sector, according to Timothy Mgaya, deputy managing director for distribution at the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO).
“We have not been able to fully utilise the generation capacity that we have been constructing,” he said during a panel at the Infra for Africa Forum.
Mgaya explained that, in light of this chronic underinvestment in transmission, Tanzania’s priority now is to strengthen the grid to unlock the full value of its generation assets.
“Our most critical project is the grid stabilisation project; we are constructing substations and associated transmission lines across every major city and district, ensuring reliable power supply to consumers and other productive sectors,” he said.
He added that TANESCO is also undertaking a transmission rehabilitation programme to upgrade and modernise older substations.
Pakinam Kafafi, TAQA Arabia CEO, argued that greater investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure is essential to make more generation projects bankable. Many investors, she noted, are eager to finance new generation capacity but hesitate because there is no infrastructure to evacuate the power produced.
With fiscal space constrained, Kafafi noted that the private sector can play a more prominent role in grid development. While no independent transmission projects are currently in operation in Africa, several governments have signalled growing openness to the model. This includes Kenya, which recently signed an agreement with Africa50 and India’s Power Grid to construct two high-voltage transmission lines in the country.
Policy and regulatory clarity key
Kafafi argued that for the private sector to get more involved in power transmission and distribution, policy and regulatory clarity from the government is crucial.
“As private investors in energy, our ask to governments is a clear, stable long-term policy framework. Investors need visibility and a clear strategy from the government on what the short, medium and long term plan,” she said.
Judith Ssengendo, the director of technical planning for Uganda’s Electricity Regulatory Authority, said Uganda was for the first time opening up power transmission to private investors. This, she said, was in part driven by fiscal considerations.
“When you have a government budget, there are a lot of competing priorities for the government. That is where private capital comes in. We have had to amend the Electricity Act and allow private participation in transmission,” she remarked.
“We are providing a stable and clear regulatory framework and we have developed project pipelines. That is what private investors are looking for,” she said. “We were able to license the first IPT project in Uganda, and groundbreaking was on 2 July 2026. This is due to the clear and transparent regulatory framework. We formulated IPT [independent power transmission] regulations; our tariff methodology is very clear; we have established clear roles and obligations for the ministry, the transmission company, and stakeholders, and we have dispute resolution mechanisms in place.”
Kipkemoi Kibias, acting managing director at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), said the utility was the first in Africa to sign a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement for a transmission line. “We did it with none other than Africa50 as our private investor,” he emphasised.
Kibias explained that Kenya began exploring private partnerships for transmission infrastructure in 2018, but only signed its first IPT agreement in December 2025. The delay, he said, stemmed from the absence of proper institutional and contractual frameworks. “There were no models to refer to, and PPP laws only made provisions for generation but not for transmission,” he explained.
He highlighted key lessons from the process, including the need to reassure private investors about how political risks will be mitigated. “Private investors want security and assurance, especially as these projects span different political and electoral cycles. They need confidence that the projects will proceed even with changes in government,” Kibias said.
Regional electricity trade
Lioko Sitali, director of transmission, operations and trade at ZESCO, Zambia’s national utility, underlined the need to invest in cross-border interconnectors to support regional power trade. “Remember, the power you produce will need to cross borders,” he said.
However, he cautioned that investments in interconnectors must go hand in hand with the strengthening of national transmission systems.
“We are moving towards interconnecting the Southern African Power Pool and the Eastern Africa Power Pool. What this means is that we will have a market stretching from Cape Town to Cairo, so if your national transmission backbone is weak, that becomes a bottleneck.”
He also called for investments in power storage, saying that this was crucial in view of the significant supply of renewable energy coming online. “Now that we are bringing in renewable energy, we need utility-scale batteries.”
Steve Dihwa, executive director at the Southern African Power Pool, said the private sector had, over the years, emerged as a key player in the region’s electricity markets – signalling the commercial viability of the model.
“When SAPP was established, it initially targeted power utilities. But because of strong political support, ministers of energy revised the rules in 2006 to allow independent players to become members. Today SAPP has 28 members, of which only 12 are national utilities,” Dihwa said.
Facts Only
* Timothy Mgaya, deputy managing director for distribution at TANESCO, stated that insufficient transmission system capacity is the main bottleneck in Africa’s power sector.
* Tanzania prioritizes strengthening the grid to unlock the value of generation assets.
* TANESCO is constructing substations and associated transmission lines across major cities and districts for reliable power supply.
* TANESCO is undertaking a transmission rehabilitation programme to upgrade older substations.
* Pakinam Kafafi, TAQA Arabia CEO, argued that investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure is essential to make generation projects bankable.
* Investors hesitate to finance new generation capacity due to a lack of infrastructure to evacuate power.
* Governments, including Kenya and India (Power Grid), have signaled openness to private sector models for transmission infrastructure.
* Judith Ssengendo, director of technical planning for Uganda’s Electricity Regulatory Authority, facilitated private participation by amending the Electricity Act.
* Uganda established clear regulations, tariff methodologies, and dispute resolution mechanisms for Independent Power Transmission (IPT) projects in 2026.
* Kipkemoi Kibias, acting managing director at KETRACO, signed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement for a transmission line with Africa50 as the private investor.
* Kenya began exploring private partnerships in 2018 but only signed its first IPT agreement in December 2025 due to absence of prior contractual frameworks.
* Lioko Sitali, director of transmission, operations and trade at ZESCO, Zambia, called for investment in cross-border interconnectors to support regional power trade.
* Lioko Sitali cautioned that interconnector investments must be accompanied by strengthening national transmission systems.
* Lioko Sitali called for utility-scale batteries due to the influx of renewable energy.
Executive Summary
Insufficient transmission system capacity is identified as the primary obstacle to realizing the full value of power generation in Africa, as noted by TANESCO leadership. Tanzania's immediate focus is on strengthening the grid through projects like grid stabilization, involving the construction of substations and transmission lines across major areas to ensure reliable supply. This need for infrastructure investment is echoed by international investors who seek viable frameworks, noting that generation capacity cannot be utilized without adequate evacuation infrastructure.
The push toward private sector involvement in transmission and distribution is being facilitated by governments establishing clearer policy environments. Uganda, for instance, amended its Electricity Act to allow private participation in transmission, creating a stable regulatory framework with defined project pipelines and dispute resolution mechanisms. Kenya's experience shows that the lack of institutional frameworks previously delayed private investment in transmission; lessons learned emphasize the necessity of political risk mitigation and clear long-term strategies for investors.
Regional power trade necessitates investments in cross-border interconnectors and energy storage, especially as renewable energy sources increase. While some regional bodies like the Southern African Power Pool have seen private sector emergence, the success of these models depends on national transmission backbone strength.
Full Take
The narrative presented highlights a structural paradox: significant investment is occurring in power generation, yet systemic bottlenecks exist in transmission and distribution. The shift from a purely utility-centric model to one that incorporates private capital hinges on regulatory maturity, which acts as the critical intermediary. The experience of Uganda illustrates that while fiscal constraints drive government action, true unlocking of private finance requires establishing predictable, stable frameworks—specific roles, clear tariffs, and robust dispute resolution mechanisms.
A persistent tension exists between regional integration goals (interconnectors) and national infrastructure development; an attempt to optimize cross-border trade is constrained by the unevenness of national transmission backbones. This suggests that regional cooperation must be layered atop concurrent, sovereign grid strengthening efforts rather than replacing them. Furthermore, the cautionary tale from Kenya demonstrates that technical or financial motivation alone is insufficient for successful private engagement; political risk mitigation and institutional assurance are prerequisite conditions. The pattern observed is that market liberalization requires infrastructure development to precede, or at least parallel, regulatory clarity, otherwise, it risks becoming a mechanism for external capture rather than genuine development.
What assumptions underlie the call for greater private involvement? It assumes that contractual frameworks can reliably mitigate political risk across electoral cycles and that institutional capacity exists to manage complex cross-border flows simultaneously with domestic grid upgrades. The implication is that success depends less on securing large capital injections and more on creating an environment where trust—institutional, regulatory, and political—can be established before deployment occurs. If the focus remains solely on financing, the cycle of grid failure will repeat, regardless of the level of private sector participation. How does the existing framework account for multi-stakeholder risk when national priorities diverge from private investment timelines?
Sentinel — Human
The text functions as legitimate geopolitical and infrastructure reporting, synthesizing expert viewpoints on African energy development challenges and the role of private investment.