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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Remarks by J. Brady Anderson,
United States Energy Association
USAID Administrator
May 10, 2000
Thanks for inviting me to speak with you today.
USAID and USEA have been working together for nearly ten years to bring U.S. energy expertise to decision-makers from developing country utilities and regulatory bodies.
The results are impressive: technical and managerial skills have been transferred, investment opportunities in developing markets have emerged, and utilities and regulatory bodies in our client countries have become more efficient and competitive, which allows more people to have the benefits of electricity at lower prices.
Of course, USAID has long recognized the important role energy plays in development. Secure energy resources are vital if developing countries are to improve the opportunities for and the livelihoods of their citizens.
Yet over 2 billion people are still without electricity. And this figure is growing.
To achieve and maintain social and economic progress, developing countries and economies in transition need to expand their energy supplies.
But the wrong choices in how energy is produced and used can add to the difficulty of meeting those goals. Our priorities are to help developing countries get the energy they need without damaging the environment on which their futures depend.
What does USAID do to meet these challenges?
It has been estimated that more than $100 billion of investment will be required annually over the next decade for new electricity generation capacity in developing countries.
The heart of USAID's strategy is to reform legislative and regulatory policies and institutions to promote increased private investment in the electric sector and to create markets for clean energy technologies.
How do we do this? In large part, USAID advises and trains developing country energy professionals, fosters business relationships, and works to reform energy markets. And frankly, we could not do this without USEA.
Since 1992, we have worked together through the USEA Energy Partnership Program to create 65 partnerships between U.S. utilities and regulatory agencies and their counterparts around the world.
The energy partnerships bring together U.S. and foreign executives to share experiences on a wide variety of technical and managerial issues.
The goal of this senior-level exchange is to promote a more efficient and environmentally-sound energy supply and use through the transfer of market-based approaches in system operation and regulation.
In addition to the utility partnerships, USEA's regulatory partnerships bring U.S. state and federal regulators together with their developing country counterparts. This is particularly exciting because there is much innovation in our state regulatory arena.
While enabling U.S. energy executives to learn about foreign energy markets and to explore possible investment options, the partnership program also increases private sector understanding and support of our foreign assistance programs.
Let me mention a few USAID-USEA successes.
In the Philippines, Southern Companies' Georgia Power Company has worked closely with the National Power Corporation to prepare the government monopoly for the ensuing privatization and restructuring of the Philippine energy industry.
With our joint support, in February the Export Import Bank and the Power Finance Corporation of India signed an Memorandum Of Understanding through the USEA India Energy Partnership Program. This is the first Financial Partnership signed up.
The Ex-Im Bank expects that up to $500 million in new transactions could be financed as a result of this initiative.
In Central and Eastern Europe, your partnership program has revealed the need for a locally-run organization to train utility managers. So USAID, USEA, and private industry formed the Utility Management Institute to train utility managers in the region.
In 1999, together we initiated a regulatory partnership between the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the State Agency for the Regulation of Oil and Gas Resources of Georgia in the Caucasus Region.
Through this partnership the Georgians are examining how the U.S. regulators balance the need for oil and gas development and transportation with the need for environmental protection.
I traveled with the President and Secretary of State to South Asia in March. Energy was an important component of that trip. Energy consumption by the business sector in South Asia has increased nearly 50% between 1990 and 1997 due to economic and population growth.
This rapid growth is causing widespread power shortages, which lead to frequent, costly, and widespread power blackouts.
The poor quality, inefficiency, and unreliability of the power supply is exacerbating the outages.
To provide sufficient "clean" energy for continued economic growth, South Asian nations need to diversify their sources of supply, improve energy efficiency, reform their energy sectors, and expand regional energy trade.
One of the agreements signed during this trip was between USEA and the Confederation of Indian Industry, an informal partnership between Indian industries and U.S. energy and environmental companies.
In addition, the Confederation of Indian Industry will establish and fund a fully staffed Green Business Center in Hyderabad to conduct research and disseminate information on clean energy and environmental technologies.
Indian participants will be able to use the Center to identify specific projects and to meet potential trade and investment partners in the U.S.
The partnership is exciting for a few reasons:
The partnership relies on business-to-business collaboration between the U.S. and India.
It will promote specific clean energy and environment projects.
It will help disseminate information about how U.S. clean energy and environment technologies and systems might be applied in India.
Another key accomplishment of the trip was the South Asia Regional Initiative, or SARI, for short.
The President announced that USAID has designed a $34-million, four-year regional initiative that will encourage regional economic integration among South Asian countries-Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka-by promoting cooperation and trade in clean energy, natural gas and renewable energy sources.
SARI will provide technical assistance and training to support regional energy development, cooperation and trade in energy resources among South Asian nations. This will have far-reaching economic, development and security benefits.
USAID's bilateral and regional energy programs will help create competitive power markets to attract private capital.
Regional cooperation is key. USAID's programs will foster cooperation through study tours, workshops, and support for utility and regulatory partnerships to share best practices.
The benefits are cheaper power, more dependable power supply, a strengthened private sector, expanded business opportunities, and more government resources for investment in other areas (health, education, social security, etc.).
This initiative is an example of the Clinton Administration's efforts to encourage its partners to promote energy efficiency and public-private partnerships.
If I sound proud of our contributions, it's because I am. I'm also delighted with the Administration's plans for the future.
President Clinton's recently announced "International Clean Energy Initiative" grew out of a study of future global energy needs. The study estimated that energy technology markets in developing countries will total $4-5 trillion over the next 20 years and reach $15-25 trillion over the next 50 years.
The independent commission concluded that any meaningful deployment of clean energy technologies internationally would require a long-term, integrated effort that focuses on public-private partnerships.
In February, the President submitted his plan for the first year of this five-year initiative to the Congress. It calls for an additional $100 million, with $30 million going to support USAID's portion of the program, to build on existing U.S. efforts to increase investment into the global energy sector.
Also, the President has indicated that out of the $500 million from the Ex-Im Bank, $200 million will be made available for loans for clean energy projects in India.
Technical decisions and solutions are best determined by the marketplace and by businesses running energy utilities. USAID focuses on reforming the energy sector and building the institutions that create, frame and regulate the energy sector.
We need your help in developing ideas and activities that can make this important initiative a success-and allow us to help millions of people in developing countries increase their access to energy for economic development.
USAID greatly values the work of the U.S. Energy Association. We value it so highly, in fact, that we have six cooperative agreements with USEA-three based here in Washington and three overseas, in Egypt, India, and the Philippines.
The work that USEA does with its Utility and Regulatory Partnership Program is timely, effective, and very much aligned with USAID's development objectives.
You help give developing countries the knowledge and opportunities they need to produce energy more efficiently, and that benefits us all.
In the process, you help foster changes in attitudes that allow for more open and transparent decision-making by governments and corporate leaders-and that benefits us too.
Thank you very much.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 12, 2001 |
