[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2152 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2152
One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen
An Act
To establish a comprehensive United States Government policy to
encourage the efforts of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an
appropriate mix of power solutions, including renewable energy, for more
broadly distributed electricity access in order to support poverty
reduction, promote development outcomes, and drive economic growth, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Electrify Africa Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to encourage the efforts of countries in
sub-Saharan Africa to improve access to affordable and reliable
electricity in Africa in order to unlock the potential for inclusive
economic growth, job creation, food security, improved health,
education, and environmental outcomes, and poverty reduction.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to partner, consult, and
coordinate with the governments of sub-Saharan African countries,
international financial institutions, and African regional economic
communities, cooperatives, and the private sector, in a concerted
effort to--
(1) promote first-time access to power and power services for
at least 50,000,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 in both
urban and rural areas;
(2) encourage the installation of at least 20,000 additional
megawatts of electrical power in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 using a
broad mix of energy options to help reduce poverty, promote
sustainable development, and drive inclusive economic growth;
(3) promote non-discriminatory reliable, affordable, and
sustainable power in urban areas (including small urban areas) to
promote economic growth and job creation;
(4) promote policies to facilitate public-private partnerships
to provide non-discriminatory reliable, sustainable, and affordable
electrical service to rural and underserved populations;
(5) encourage the necessary in-country reforms, including
facilitating public-private partnerships specifically to support
electricity access projects to make such expansion of power access
possible;
(6) promote reforms of power production, delivery, and pricing,
as well as regulatory reforms and transparency, to support long-
term, market-based power generation and distribution;
(7) promote policies to displace kerosene lighting with other
technologies;
(8) promote an all-of-the-above energy development strategy for
sub-Saharan Africa that includes the use of oil, natural gas, coal,
hydroelectric, wind, solar, and geothermal power, and other sources
of energy; and
(9) promote and increase the use of private financing and seek
ways to remove barriers to private financing and assistance for
projects, including through charitable organizations.
SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE, MULTIYEAR STRATEGY.
(a) Strategy Required.--
(1) In general.--The President shall establish a comprehensive,
integrated, multiyear strategy to encourage the efforts of
countries in sub-Saharan Africa to implement national power
strategies and develop an appropriate mix of power solutions to
provide access to sufficient reliable, affordable, and sustainable
power in order to reduce poverty and drive economic growth and job
creation consistent with the policy stated in section 3.
(2) Flexibility and responsiveness.--The President shall ensure
that the strategy required under paragraph (1) maintains sufficient
flexibility for and remains responsive to concerns and interests of
affected local communities and technological innovation in the
power sector.
(b) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives a report that contains the strategy
required under subsection (a) and includes a discussion of the
following elements:
(1) The objectives of the strategy and the criteria for
determining the success of the strategy.
(2) A general description of efforts in sub-Saharan Africa to--
(A) increase power production;
(B) strengthen electrical transmission and distribution
infrastructure;
(C) provide for regulatory reform and transparent and
accountable governance and oversight;
(D) improve the reliability of power;
(E) maintain the affordability of power;
(F) maximize the financial sustainability of the power
sector; and
(G) improve non-discriminatory access to power that is done
in consultation with affected communities.
(3) A description of plans to support efforts of countries in
sub-Saharan Africa to increase access to power in urban and rural
areas, including a description of plans designed to address
commercial, industrial, and residential needs.
(4) A description of plans to support efforts to reduce waste
and corruption, ensure local community consultation, and improve
existing power generation through the use of a broad power mix,
including fossil fuel and renewable energy, distributed generation
models, energy efficiency, and other technological innovations, as
appropriate.
(5) An analysis of existing mechanisms for ensuring, and
recommendations to promote--
(A) commercial cost recovery;
(B) commercialization of electric service through
distribution service providers, including cooperatives, to
consumers;
(C) improvements in revenue cycle management, power
pricing, and fees assessed for service contracts and
connections;
(D) reductions in technical losses and commercial losses;
and
(E) non-discriminatory access to power, including
recommendations on the creation of new service provider models
that mobilize community participation in the provision of power
services.
(6) A description of the reforms being undertaken or planned by
countries in sub-Saharan Africa to ensure the long-term economic
viability of power projects and to increase access to power,
including--
(A) reforms designed to allow third parties to connect
power generation to the grid;
(B) policies to ensure there is a viable and independent
utility regulator;
(C) strategies to ensure utilities become or remain
creditworthy;
(D) regulations that permit the participation of
independent power producers and private-public partnerships;
(E) policies that encourage private sector and cooperative
investment in power generation;
(F) policies that ensure compensation for power provided to
the electrical grid by on-site producers;
(G) policies to unbundle power services;
(H) regulations to eliminate conflicts of interest in the
utility sector;
(I) efforts to develop standardized power purchase
agreements and other contracts to streamline project
development;
(J) efforts to negotiate and monitor compliance with power
purchase agreements and other contracts entered into with the
private sector; and
(K) policies that promote local community consultation with
respect to the development of power generation and transmission
projects.
(7) A description of plans to ensure meaningful local
consultation, as appropriate, in the planning, long-term
maintenance, and management of investments designed to increase
access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.
(8) A description of the mechanisms to be established for--
(A) selection of partner countries for focused engagement
on the power sector;
(B) monitoring and evaluating increased access to, and
reliability and affordability of, power in sub-Saharan Africa;
(C) maximizing the financial sustainability of power
generation, transmission, and distribution in sub-Saharan
Africa;
(D) establishing metrics to demonstrate progress on meeting
goals relating to access to power, power generation, and
distribution in sub-Saharan Africa; and
(E) terminating unsuccessful programs.
(9) A description of how the President intends to promote trade
in electrical equipment with countries in sub-Saharan Africa,
including a description of how the government of each country
receiving assistance pursuant to the strategy--
(A) plans to lower or eliminate import tariffs or other
taxes for energy and other power production and distribution
technologies destined for sub-Saharan Africa, including
equipment used to provide energy access, including solar
lanterns, solar home systems, and micro and mini grids; and
(B) plans to protect the intellectual property of companies
designing and manufacturing products that can be used to
provide energy access in sub-Saharan Africa.
(10) A description of how the President intends to encourage
the growth of distributed renewable energy markets in sub-Saharan
Africa, including off-grid lighting and power, that includes--
(A) an analysis of the state of distributed renewable
energy in sub-Saharan Africa;
(B) a description of market barriers to the deployment of
distributed renewable energy technologies both on- and off-grid
in sub-Saharan Africa;
(C) an analysis of the efficacy of efforts by the Overseas
Private Investment Corporation and the United States Agency for
International Development to facilitate the financing of the
importation, distribution, sale, leasing, or marketing of
distributed renewable energy technologies; and
(D) a description of how bolstering distributed renewable
energy can enhance the overall effort to increase power access
in sub-Saharan Africa.
(11) A description of plans to ensure that small and medium
enterprises based in sub-Saharan Africa can fairly compete for
energy development and energy access opportunities associated with
this Act.
(12) A description of how United States investments to increase
access to energy in sub-Saharan Africa may reduce the need for
foreign aid and development assistance in the future.
(13) A description of policies or regulations, both
domestically and internationally, that create barriers to private
financing of the projects undertaken in this Act.
(14) A description of the specific national security benefits
to the United States that will be derived from increased energy
access in sub-Saharan Africa.
(c) Interagency Working Group.--
(1) In general.--The President may, as appropriate, establish
an Interagency Working Group to coordinate the activities of
relevant United States Government departments and agencies involved
in carrying out the strategy required under this section.
(2) Functions.--The Interagency Working Group may, among other
things--
(A) seek to coordinate the activities of the United States
Government departments and agencies involved in implementing
the strategy required under this section;
(B) ensure efficient and effective coordination between
participating departments and agencies; and
(C) facilitate information sharing, and coordinate
partnerships between the United States Government, the private
sector, and other development partners to achieve the goals of
the strategy.
SEC. 5. PRIORITIZATION OF EFFORTS AND ASSISTANCE FOR POWER PROJECTS IN
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA BY KEY UNITED STATES INSTITUTIONS.
(a) In General.--In pursuing the policy goals described in section
3, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, the Director of the Trade and Development Agency, the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Chief Executive
Officer and Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
should, as appropriate, prioritize and expedite institutional efforts
and assistance to facilitate the involvement of such institutions in
power projects and markets, both on- and off-grid, in sub-Saharan
Africa and partner with other investors and local institutions in sub-
Saharan Africa, including private sector actors, to specifically
increase access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power in sub-
Saharan Africa, including through--
(1) maximizing the number of people with new access to power
and power services;
(2) improving and expanding the generation, transmission and
distribution of power;
(3) providing reliable power to people and businesses in urban
and rural communities;
(4) addressing the energy needs of marginalized people living
in areas where there is little or no access to a power grid and
developing plans to systematically increase coverage in rural
areas;
(5) reducing transmission and distribution losses and improving
end-use efficiency and demand-side management;
(6) reducing energy-related impediments to business
productivity and investment; and
(7) building the capacity of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to
monitor and appropriately and transparently regulate the power
sector and encourage private investment in power production and
distribution.
(b) Effectiveness Measurement.--In prioritizing and expediting
institutional efforts and assistance pursuant to this section, as
appropriate, such institutions shall use clear, accountable, and
metric-based targets to measure the effectiveness of such guarantees
and assistance in achieving the goals described in section 3.
(c) Promotion of Use of Private Financing and Assistance.--In
carrying out policies under this section, such institutions shall
promote the use of private financing and assistance and seek ways to
remove barriers to private financing for projects and programs under
this Act, including through charitable organizations.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to authorize modifying or limiting the portfolio of the institutions
covered by subsection (a) in other developing regions.
SEC. 6. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT.
In implementing the strategy described in section 4, the President
should direct the United States representatives to appropriate
international bodies to use the influence of the United States,
consistent with the broad development goals of the United States, to
advocate that each such body--
(1) commit to significantly increase efforts to promote
investment in well-designed power sector and electrification
projects in sub-Saharan Africa that increase energy access, in
partnership with the private sector and consistent with the host
countries' absorptive capacity;
(2) address energy needs of individuals and communities where
access to an electricity grid is impractical or cost-prohibitive;
(3) enhance coordination with the private sector in sub-Saharan
Africa to increase access to electricity;
(4) provide technical assistance to the regulatory authorities
of sub-Saharan African governments to remove unnecessary barriers
to investment in otherwise commercially viable projects; and
(5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based targets to
measure the effectiveness of such projects.
SEC. 7. PROGRESS REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than three years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on progress made toward
achieving the strategy described in section 4 that includes the
following:
(1) A report on United States programs supporting
implementation of policy and legislative changes leading to
increased power generation and access in sub-Saharan Africa,
including a description of the number, type, and status of policy,
regulatory, and legislative changes initiated or implemented as a
result of programs funded or supported by the United States in
countries in sub-Saharan Africa to support increased power
generation and access after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) A description of power projects receiving United States
Government support and how such projects, including off-grid
efforts, are intended to achieve the strategy described in section
4.
(3) For each project described in paragraph (2)--
(A) a description of how the project fits into, or
encourages modifications of, the national energy plan of the
country in which the project will be carried out, including
encouraging regulatory reform in that county;
(B) an estimate of the total cost of the project to the
consumer, the country in which the project will be carried out,
and other investors;
(C) the amount of financing provided or guaranteed by the
United States Government for the project;
(D) an estimate of United States Government resources for
the project, itemized by funding source, including from the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the United States
Agency for International Development, the Department of the
Treasury, and other appropriate United States Government
departments and agencies;
(E) an estimate of the number and regional locations of
individuals, communities, businesses, schools, and health
facilities that have gained power connections as a result of
the project, with a description of how the reliability,
affordability, and sustainability of power has been improved as
of the date of the report;
(F) an assessment of the increase in the number of people
and businesses with access to power, and in the operating
electrical power capacity in megawatts as a result of the
project between the date of the enactment of this Act and the
date of the report;
(G) a description of efforts to gain meaningful local
consultation for projects associated with this Act and any
significant estimated noneconomic effects of the efforts
carried out pursuant to this Act; and
(H) a description of the participation by small and medium
enterprises based in sub-Saharan Africa on projects associated
with this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.