“Our ambition is to reach 100% [of access to electricity] by 2026”, said Alexandre Monteiro, in an interview last week-end, to take stock of the electrification work carried out in recent years.
Currently, Cape Verde has an electricity access rate of over 95%. According to the energy minister, the Cape Verdean Government has an expansion and network coverage project underway to increase energy access in the archipelago, targeting four islands: Santo Antão, São Nicolau, Santiago and Fogo.
The project, he said, consists of extending networks as well as micro-networks and distributing individual kits in isolated locations where people with economic vulnerabilities live.
The investments are budgeted at around 300 million escudos, financed by the government and international cooperation, and the work will benefit around 3,000 people.
“We’re talking about a universe of around 1% of consumers who live in areas not covered by the networks, hence the need for this specific program to reach these localities,” stressed the Minister of Trade and Industry.
Between 2015 and 2022, Alexandre Monteiro said that the Government had invested 40 million euros in grid infrastructures, allowing the country to jump from 80% to over 90% access to electricity.