Kigali, 10th June, 2015-The 49^th Annual meetings of the Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA) was held in Kigali, Rwanda. It brought together all power utility actors including donors, electrical energy and renewable energy operators, manufactures, suppliers of electrical materials, experts, consultants and consulting firms. 

APUA was officially opened by the Minister of State in Charge of Energy and Water in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Honorable Germaine Kamayirese in the presence of associated members as   CEO’s and Director Generals from 33 African Electricity Utility Companies, in electrical energy sector and African industries.

”The meetings will further strengthen direct relationship and cooperation between members utilities and other partners in the region, follow the direct changes over time in the environment of electrical energy and in real time, enhance a dynamic forum of exchanges and   position the APUA as a central player in the development and growth of member Utilities, in order to really be the main vector of access to electricity for all the peoples of Africa “Minister noted.

APUA was established in 1970 with the mission of bringing together African electricity companies and stakeholders to make more accessible, affordable and reliable electricity for African populations.  APUA with its headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire is going through a transformation to become an Association that brings value to its members. One of the pillars of the APUA transformation is the project, with financial support from the French Development Agency and the African Development Bank, aimed at creation of the African Network of Centers of Excellence for the Development of Skills and Governance in Electricity.

APUA meetings aims at setting activities that will be carried out during a year, monitoring the status of the projects and reforms being implemented, promoting the activities of its member companies, develop cooperation and encourage the emergence of an African local industry of electrical equipment and services to boost the development of the sector.

Rwanda was integrated in APUA in 1979 when the current REG was ELECTROGAZ and was held in Rwanda for the first time in 2010. It was organized by Rwanda Energy Group with its subsidiaries; Energy Development Corporation Limited (EDCL) and Energy Utility Corporation Limited (EUCL) under the Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda.