Over the last few years, the electricity sector in Sudan has been in a state of crisis: 60 per cent of the Sudanese population have been living without electricity, while millions of Sudanese people currently suffer from hours of continuous power cuts, as the available electricity capacity covers a mere 60 per cent of the demand. 1 Frequent tariff increases, reaching 13,000 per cent for some social groups, have also exacerbated the crisis.
Sudan is currently facing a major problem with electricity supply. According to the report “ Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report (2021) ”, only 54% of the population in Sudan have access to electricity; this indicates more than 20 million people aren't connected to the national electricity grid .
Renewable electricity here is the sum of hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, modern biomass and wave and tidal power. Traditional biomass – the burning of charcoal, crop waste, and other organic matter – is not included. This can be an important source in lower-income settings. Sudan: How much of the country's electricity comes from nuclear power?
What is power in Sudan?
Power in Sudan Sudan is a country with immense renewable energy potential, possessing a high hydropower potential based totally on its location on the river Nile and other watersheds, a high wind speed mainly in its northern and western region, and high solar radiation throughout the country.
Anadolu Agency (2021) 'Sudan will quadruple the electricity tariff'. Open Sudan (2022) 'Details of the new electricity prices in Sudan starting from 24 January 2022'. The World Bank (2019) 'From subsidy to sustainability: Diagnostic review of Sudan's electricity sector'.
Even though the energy access rate is low; Sudan is making progress in electrification with annual growth over more than 3 percentage points after 2010; more than 70% of Sudan's population was lacking access to electricity at that time . Table 1 below represents statistical facts about Sudan's electricity access rate from (2000 – 2019).
In addition to denying more than 60 per cent of the Sudanese people access to the national grid, the relatively large annual consumption rates (averaging 10 per cent) worsened the national supply gap. As a result, the energy sector was under pressure to provide more electrical capacity.