US help for African energy crisis

The United States signed an agreement Friday designed to promote the role of the private sector in helping southern African countries overcome an energy crisis.

Aging infrastructure and growing demand have led to an energy crisis in the region with Zambia hit by at least three nationwide blackouts and outages a common problem in Zimbabwe.
In South Africa, the continent’s economic powerhouse, electricity supply to mines has been reduced after the country was hit by rolling blackouts in the last month. The country’s electricity supplier Eskom was forced to suspend exports to neighboring countries, causing concerns about blackouts in Botswana and Namibia.

U.S. ambassador to Botswana, Katherine Canavan, said demand for energy had increased at a rate faster than supply can keep up with.

Business Week