Africa Electricity Metering Market Value To Grow 234% Over Next Decade, To Reach $9.9bn By 2024

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May 07, 2014, 05:47 ET

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sub-Saharan Africa's electricity metering market will see the fastest growth of any region in the world over the next decade. The total market will reach 63.3 million electricity meters and its value will grow 234% to $9.9 billion cumulatively by 2024. African countries' high GDP growth rates, ambitious electrification programs and progressive deployments of prepaid metering will drive the market, according to a new study published today by Northeast Group.

"Metering is critical for the future of Africa's utilities and those without access to electricity," said Ben Gardner, president of Northeast Group. "Nearly $300 billion of investment is needed to bring electricity to those in Africa currently lacking it. Utilities cannot build out and maintain electric infrastructure if they are unable to meter and collect revenue from customers. Metering is a prerequisite for utilities across the continent to achieve financial sustainability."

Funding for Africa's power sector will come from a combination of local utilities, multilateral organizations, and bilateral aid. Most notably, the US government's Power Africa initiative, launched in 2013, has promised over $7 billion in funding for electricity projects on the continent, with additional private sector funding. More effective metering and revenue collection will ensure that these investments are sustainable over the long term.

Prepaid meters will make up the majority of the metering market by 2020. These function in an analogous way to prepaid mobile phones. Both utilities and customers benefit from prepaid metering.

"After mobile phones, electricity metering is the next big prepaid market in Africa," said Gardner. "Utilities use prepaid metering to improve their revenue collection so they can invest in their infrastructure to improve its reliability. Consumers also benefit through greater awareness of their electricity usage, more accurate bills and the ability to budget more effectively."

Northeast Group's Sub-Saharan Africa Electricity Metering: Market Forecast (2014-2024) study is 144 pages long, includes 155 tables and graphics and comes with an excel file with over 1,900 data points. Forecasts are included for AMI, prepaid, C&I, and legacy metering for Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and other countries. To order a copy of the study, please visit: www.northeast-group.com or email Ben Gardner at: [email protected]