EDF Group
Claude Nahon?s Contribution to CSD 14 ? Ministerial Dialogue, May 10 2006
Public-private partnerships and access to energy: a global challenge
I would like to thank you for inviting our company to join this ministerial dialogue
here at the United Nations. First of all I would like to pass on the apologies of our
CEO, Pierre Gadonneix, who would have been very pleased to join this interesting
dialogue session.
As a lot of speakers have already underlined the huge issues we are facing
regarding the Millennium Goals, climate change and sustainable development, I
will focus on access to electricity, public-private partnerships and their key
conditions of success.
EDF has been working with developing countries for many years now. We have
pilot experiments in rural areas which gave rise to the concept of ?decentralised
service companies?. This was tested in Mali on two sites and prompted the Malian
government, backed by the World Bank, to develop a rural electrification
programme. A similar approach has now been adopted in Senegal. Larger
programmes with 15,000 customers were also implemented in Morocco and South
Africa. The technologies being used rely heavily on renewable energy and ensure
access to basic services.
EDF also has experience in industrial-scale public-private partnerships. We were a
major player in Argentina and are now developing the Nam Theun 2 project in
Laos. This 1100MW hydroelectric plant required a 1.4 billion ? investment made
in partnership with mainly the Laotian government, the World Bank, the Asian
Development Bank and Thai investors ? construction is now
underway. The plant will have a significant economic impact on the region, rising
Laos?s GDP by 30% and saving more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The
new facility will supply a significant part of Thailand?s electricity needs and at the
same time speed up the economic development of one of the world?s poorest
countries. The living conditions of the local populations will be enhanced at the
same time.
With these concrete experiences, we do believe that public-private partnerships are
an important and appropriate tool for development given the character of the
electricity industry. I?ll just highlight two main conditions necessary to their
success.
We believe that these partnerships need a clear regulatory framework, stable in the
long term, providing the right incentives to investors. They also need a financial
framework that allows the development of replicable and viable financial models
and an even distribution of risks between the players depending on their role in the
project ? the private partner only assuming responsibility for those risks over which
it has control.
We believe too that voluntary corporate initiatives such as the Global Compact, to
which we have adhered since 2001, are tools to enhance confidence between the
private sector, local authorities and other social actors and this is key for success in
public -private partnerships.
Public-private partnerships and access to energy: a global challenge
I would like to thank you for inviting our company to join this ministerial dialogue
here at the United Nations. First of all I would like to pass on the apologies of our
CEO, Pierre Gadonneix, who would have been very pleased to join this interesting
dialogue session.
As a lot of speakers have already underlined the huge issues we are facing
regarding the Millennium Goals, climate change and sustainable development, I
will focus on access to electricity, public-private partnerships and their key
conditions of success.
EDF has been working with developing countries for many years now. We have
pilot experiments in rural areas which gave rise to the concept of ?decentralised
service companies?. This was tested in Mali on two sites and prompted the Malian
government, backed by the World Bank, to develop a rural electrification
programme. A similar approach has now been adopted in Senegal. Larger
programmes with 15,000 customers were also implemented in Morocco and South
Africa. The technologies being used rely heavily on renewable energy and ensure
access to basic services.
EDF also has experience in industrial-scale public-private partnerships. We were a
major player in Argentina and are now developing the Nam Theun 2 project in
Laos. This 1100MW hydroelectric plant required a 1.4 billion ? investment made
in partnership with mainly the Laotian government, the World Bank, the Asian
Development Bank and Thai investors ? construction is now
underway. The plant will have a significant economic impact on the region, rising
Laos?s GDP by 30% and saving more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The
new facility will supply a significant part of Thailand?s electricity needs and at the
same time speed up the economic development of one of the world?s poorest
countries. The living conditions of the local populations will be enhanced at the
same time.
With these concrete experiences, we do believe that public-private partnerships are
an important and appropriate tool for development given the character of the
electricity industry. I?ll just highlight two main conditions necessary to their
success.
We believe that these partnerships need a clear regulatory framework, stable in the
long term, providing the right incentives to investors. They also need a financial
framework that allows the development of replicable and viable financial models
and an even distribution of risks between the players depending on their role in the
project ? the private partner only assuming responsibility for those risks over which
it has control.
We believe too that voluntary corporate initiatives such as the Global Compact, to
which we have adhered since 2001, are tools to enhance confidence between the
private sector, local authorities and other social actors and this is key for success in
public -private partnerships.