Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy

Despite an abundant endowment of energy resources, Angola’s people and its economy suffer from lack of reliable energy supplies. In 2002, the country emerged from almost three decades of civil war that left much of its infrastructure destroyed or damaged and a large part of its population displaced. Increasing access to modern energy sources in a sustainable manner would help improve livelihoods directly, as well as indirectly through the promotion of economic development. At the request of the Angolan government in 2005, the IEA conducted a survey of the Angolan energy sector and energy policies. The request spurred several visits to Angola by IEA teams who met with energy sector officials and other stakeholders collecting documentation in the capital, Luanda and in Lubango. Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy is the result of the team’s work: an independent review of the major energy policy issues facing the country. Lessons in this analysis are applicable in many other developing countries. This inclusive review on Angola focuses on areas for priority action and hones in on energy sub-sectors likely to play the largest role in meeting domestic demand for modern energy services: notably electricity and oil products. As biomass currently plays an immense role in meeting the bulk of the energy needs of Angolan households, this sub-sector is also featured, with emphasis on improving the sustainability of this renewable energy source. Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy offers a realistic update on Angola’s present-day energy situation and identifies the main priorities which could form the basis of an effective overall energy strategy.