Worldwide, about 1.6 billion people lackaccess to electricity services. There are also largepopulations without access in the poorer countries of Asiaand Latin America, as well as in the rural and peri-urbanareas of middle income countries. However large-scaleelectrification programs that is currently underway inmiddle income countries and the poor countries of Asia willincrease household electricity access more rapidly than insub-Saharan Africa. Africa has the lowest electrificationrate of all the regions at 26 percent of households, meaningthat as many as 547 million people are without access toelectricity. On current trends less than half of Africancountries will reach universal access to electricity even by2050. Without access to electricity services, the poor aredeprived of opportunities to improve their living standardsand the delivery of health and education services iscompromised when electricity is not available in clinics, inschools and in the households of students and teachers. Thetotal financing needs for Africa to resolve the power supplycrisis are of the order of approximately US$40 billion perannum or 6.4 percent of region's Gross Domestic Product(GDP). In response to the power crisis, donors haveincreased their support to the power sector, though more isneeded. From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, donorassistance for the African power sector averaged no morethan US$500 million per year. The private sector will be keyto energy access expansion. For example, private sectorexpertise will be needed to develop the large complexgeneration and transmission projects (especiallycross-border projects) that are necessary and for which aproject finance approach will be often the most appropriate.The current global credit crisis poses additional challengesto mobilizing financing for energy infrastructure andespecially for projects with perceived higher risk or highercosts. Nevertheless, governments can still access finance inthe private markets for sound investments.
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