Luanda, Angola, 27 Nov – The first pahse of electricity sector reform, which began in Angola in 2004, is expected to be completed in 2013, said the director heading up the unit charged with implementing it, Vieira Lopes.

Vieira Lopes, who made the statement whilst speaking in Luanda at the 3rd seminar on the Implementation of the Electricity Sector Reform Process in Angola, noted that one of the greatest challenges for the Energy Ministry was the execution of the process to reform the sector in five years.

Lopes said in his speech that the process aimed to make the sector more dynamic and ensure its rapid growth, in order to respond to the needs of the country’s development over the next few years.

As part fo thsi process, the manager said he believed that the reform would improve the service both in terms of quality and price.

Comparing the driving forces behind the reform, Lopes said that the country had high levels of subsidisation, reduced reliability and quality in providing electricity, which meant that sector companies saw considerable losses.

He noted that tariffs paid by consumers did not yet reflect the operating costs.(macauhub)