Tetra Tech led the first phase of Power Africa, a U.S. Government partnership to increase access to cleaner, more reliable energy to power economies and improve lives.
In 2014, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) selected Tetra Tech to lead the first phase of the U.S. Government’s flagship Power Africa initiative. Power Africa is addressing the power supply challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 600 million people lack access to electricity. This critical development challenge slows economic growth in an otherwise dynamic region and limits health care, education, and other opportunities for roughly two-thirds of the continent.
Benefits
- 5,263 megawatts (MW) of power generation financially closed and 1,487 MW commissioned
- 7 million new on-grid and off-grid electricity connections for homes and businesses
- $6 billion in cleaner energy investment leveraged
- 2,153 kilometers of power line projects financially closed
- 6,417 people trained on technical, financial, regulatory, and gender equity topics
Power Africa convenes the collective resources of 200 public and private sector partners to increase access to electricity by adding more than 30,000 MW of new electricity generation capacity and connecting 60 million homes and businesses to a reliable power supply by 2030.
The Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Program (PATRP) was a five-year contract to provide broad technical, logistical, and administrative support to implement and promote Power Africa.
Through our Leading with Science® approach, Tetra Tech managed PATRP’s complex and extensive resource infrastructure, which included nearly 100 power sector professionals engaged in more than 30 countries. The Tetra Tech team advanced power generation projects, modernized utilities, upgraded grids to expand renewable energy options, leveraged financial markets to stimulate private sector investment, and empowered partners to advance a just and inclusive energy transition.
Under Tetra Tech’s leadership, PATRP also reduced barriers for off-grid and small-scale renewable energy solutions for rural and peri-urban areas that may never be connected to a national electricity grid. In a little more than five years, the Tetra Tech-led team achieved significant results for Power Africa and for the people and communities we served.
Tetra Tech’s work under PATRP helped secure Power Africa’s role as a key resource for African governments, the private sector, and donors to galvanize collaboration around priority electricity generation, transmission, and distribution transactions. In the process, Tetra Tech helped governments drive systemic changes and fundamental reforms in the power sector that will facilitate even greater private sector involvement and investment over the long term.
You can feel good knowing that you and your team touched so many lives in a permanent way, giving people access to first-time electricity, while also helping countries build their economies through your capacity-building activities and other interventions. You all were simply great!
Learn more about the achievements of the Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Program in the final report.