EU Commission approves record allocation for ACP-EU Energy Facility

The European Commission has approved €220 million for the ACP-EU Energy Facility. This will allow the Commission to co-finance selected energy projects contributing to the provision of adequate, affordable and sustainable energy services in the ACP countries. The €220 million is the most important single allocation ever granted by the EU for energy projects in Africa, the Caribbean region and the Pacific Islands. It follows the launch of the EU Energy Initiative for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Energy (EUEI) at the World Summit of Sustainable Development (2002), toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty (les than $1 a day) by 2015.

The underlying principle of the Energy Facility is to provide grants to projects enhancing the access of the poor to energy services. As such it provides the missing link for the financing of sustainable activities and programmes in the energy sector. Its innovative approach lies in encouraging much needed collaboration between public and private sectors. Energy Facility funding is open to ACP state actors, ACP and EU non-state actors, civil society, private sector and international organisations. The Call for Proposals will be launched on the 19^th of June 2006.

Projects financed by the ACP-EU Energy Facility will

• help improve access to modern energy services by poor rural people, in villages, rural towns, peri-urban areas and remote islands;
• support good governance and better management in the energy sector by strengthening poverty related actions;
• Facilitate future large-scale investment programmes in infrastructure and distribution in rural areas.

The Energy Facility also contributes to the new Partnership on Infrastructure which is being developed between the African Union and the EU, as well as providing technical assistance and institutional support to NEPAD and financing selected priority regional network activities and programmes.

The ACP-EC Energy Facility puts into practice the EU's commitment to help the poorest communities in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions. It will provide a substantial contribution to basic services that are essential to a decent livelihood, such as cooking, lighting, cooling, heating, pumping and telecommunications.
More information on the Energy Facility and the EUEI can be found on: http://ec.europa.eu/comm/europeaid/projects/energy/index_en.htm

http://www.euei.org

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