The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced bipartisan legislation on Thursday that would support enhanced access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.
Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Electrify Africa Act would offer a market-based framework to bring affordable and reliable energy to many of the 60 million people who live in the region.
The bill would encourage the U.S. Agency for International Development to utilize existing tools like loan guarantees, partnerships and grants to promote electricity projects in the region.
“The Electrify Africa Act mandates a clear and comprehensive U.S. policy, so that the private sector can proceed with the certainty it needs to generate electricity in Africa – at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer,” Royce said. “We need to be engaged. Where the United States has left a void for economic investment in Africa, China has stepped in to direct nearly $2 billion towards energy projects on the continent. If the United States wishes to tap into this potential consumer base, we must act now.”
The measure would direct the Treasury Department to lobby the World Bank and the African Development to increase electrification investments in the region.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation would also be directed to prioritize electricity projects in the region under the legislation.