Power crisis demands a radical shift to energy efficiency: Minister Moyo

SAMANTHA MADE

Africa must confront its worsening power deficit with a radical shift toward energy efficiency or risk stalling economic growth , Zimbabwe’s Energy and Power Development Minister, July Moyo, has warned.

Speaking at the African Energy Efficiency Conference in Ethiopia, where policymakers, investors, and energy regulators convened to chart the region’s energy future, Moyo stressed that with supply already trailing demand across much of the continent, the only viable path is to reduce waste at every point in the energy chain.

“All sectors of the economy that include mining, agriculture, and manufacturing must prioritise energy efficiency as it is key for development, particularly in countries where supply is lower than demand,” he said.

Moyo underscored the importance of harmonising Africa-wide standards, arguing that national legislation must reflect regional and African Union frameworks if countries are to tackle inefficiencies that undermine competitiveness.

“When you are at national level, with the standards that are drawn by the AU, by the regional organisations, and you domesticate those policies into legislation, then you foster energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy,” he said.

He pointed to Zimbabwe’s mining sector—its largest foreign currency earner—as a prime example of where gains must be made. Efficiency, he said, must extend beyond formal mining houses to artisanal miners, who now contribute over 60% of the country’s gold output.

“In Zimbabwe, we look at mining, for instance. We need energy efficiency, not only by big mining organisations, but most of our artisanal miners are contributing. Gold is contributed by artisanal miners to the tune of over 60% of our gold output,” Moyo said.

Agriculture, too, remains a major source of energy loss, particularly through outdated irrigation systems.

“In agriculture, we need to enforce standards in irrigation because we lose a lot of energy through inefficient uses of our power,” he said.

The minister warned that the region’s longstanding mismatch between power supply and rising demand is becoming more severe, as industrial growth, climate-induced hydropower variability, and electrification drives intensify pressure.

“We do this because we in Zimbabwe, and this is true for most Southern African countries, we still have less supply than the demand that is there. The demand is much higher in many countries,” he said.

Moyo also raised concerns about the efficiency of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) trade system. Although interconnectors have strengthened regional power trading, ageing lines and technical losses continue to erode reliability and value.

“And the interconnectors that we have now created also give us some experience in terms of trading, and that trade we need to be efficient. Your transmission lines must be well put, must be well in terms of energy efficiency. Your power losses, your distribution networks, they lose a lot of power,” he said.

Ultimately, Moyo argued that energy efficiency must be seen not merely as an environmental imperative, but as a hard-nosed commercial strategy. Companies that embed efficiency into operations will strengthen margins and gain a competitive edge in a region where power remains scarce and expensive.

“So efficiency, in terms of how we look at it in Zimbabwe, is across all sectors. It’s the utilities themselves. It is the need for each enterprise to have energy efficiency because it makes money,” he said. “No regrets principle — that when you do energy efficiency, you are actually increasing your profit margin.”