Electricity sector organization and performance in Burundi

Burundi is facing to low access to electricity and low quality of supply. The electricity sector relies on hydroelectric plants and high transmission lines constructed in the decade of 1980. The connection extension increased the number of customers without increasing the installed capacity. The electricity sector is managed by a public company, which is at the same time in charge of the production, the transport and the distribution of electricity, the pumping, the treatment and the supply of drinking water in the main centers urban and secondary centers. Since the beginning of the decade of 2000, the government of Burundi edicted policies and textbooks related to the electricity sector, aiming to liberalize and regulate the sector, in order to increase the access to electricity and the quality of supply. This paper makes a review of policies drivers, reform and organization of electricity sector in Burundi through the different national policies, strategies, laws and decrees. We estimate the performance of the electricity sector using the descriptive statistics. We discuss the results using semi-structured interviews carried with officials from the ministry responsible for energy, the Régie de Production d’Eau et d’Electricité (REGIDESO) and electricity users. Results show that few steps of reform were realized in electricity sector. Also, access to electricity remains low, while the quality of service is poor. We recommend attracting more investment in electricity generation and stabilize the national economy to increase electricity consumption.