Mauritius's energy development program

Official Name: Republic of Mauritius.

Summary: Mauritius, an island nation with no proven gas or coal reserves, relies heavily on fossil fuel imports, which it has reduced through an energy development program. The country also has plans to tap renewable energy sources.

Mauritius is a picturesque island and renowned tourist destination located off the southeast coast of the African continent in the Indian Ocean. Although it is fairly developed, the island has no known oil natural gas or coal reserves.

Before the nineteenth century, Mauritius was at different times under colonial rule of the Spanish, Dutch, and French, but it was controlled by the British from the early nineteenth century until independence in 1968. Before leaving, the English started a rural electrification program and established the Central Electricity Board (CEB) of Mauritius in 1952. Responsibility for generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Mauritius and the island of Rodrigues rests with CEB, which is a parastatal body under the Ministry of Public Utilities and owned completely by the government of Mauritius. Rodrigues, a small island located 348 miles (560 kilometers) east of Mauritius, is an autonomous region of Mauritius where all existing wind energy projects from Mauritius are located. The national rural electrification program was completed by 1981, and electricity networks reaching industries, schools, water facilities, and 153 villages and estates had commenced.

Traditionally, Mauritius has relied heavily on oil imports from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe for its entire energy requirements, including electricity. However, in the 1990s and early twenty-first century, frequent fluctuations in oil prices, due to wars such as the Persian Gulf and Iraq wars, and variations in global production have had an adverse impact on the country’s economy, leading to large import bills and devaluation of the Mauritian rupee. To diversify its energy mix, Mauritius initiated the bagasse energy development program (BEDP) in 1991 to exploit the island’s biggest natural resource: large-scale sugar plantations. After sugarcane is crushed, a fibrous residue called bagasse is obtained. Interest in utilizing bagasse as a combustion fuel increased after World War II, at a time when sugar processing was undergoing modernization.

Electricity

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Mauritius has increased coal consumption and reduced oil imports, because of comparatively lower and stable coal prices. Investment from private producers has made this possible. Electricity generated by CEB has declined by 20 percent in this period. However, the recession that began in 2007 led to record oil and coal prices, which caused considerable financial losses.

In 2021, an estimated 53.7 percent of the nation’s energy supply came from oil, 33.6 percent from coal, 11 percent from biofuels and waste, and the remaining energy generated by hydropower, solar, wind, and other renewable sources. Since bagasse is from natural biomass, it is considered carbon neutral, because the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during its combustion is roughly equal to that absorbed during the sugarcane’s growing phase. During the crop season, bagasse is used as fuel to generate electricity. For the remaining five or six months of the year, coal imported from Mozambique and South Africa is used in thermal power plants run by IIPs. Electricity from sugar plantations is sold to CEB, and this revenue provides insurance from loss of income due to decline in sugar prices.

In 2021, electricity generation in Mauritius was estimated at 2,992 gigawatt-hours, with 78.6 percent from fossil fuels and the remaining 21.4 percent from hydropower, biofuels, and other renewable sources. Oil is no longer the dominant fuel input: In 2021, 42 percent of electricity came from coal, 36.67 percent came from oil, and 12.3 percent came from biofuels such as bagasse. Between 2000 and 2021, generation has gone up 68 percent.

IIPs running power projects in Mauritius include Central Thermique de Belle, Vue (CTBV), Flacq United Estates Limited (FUEL), Consolidated Energy Limited (CEL), Central Thermique de Savannah (CTSav), and Compagnie Thermique de Savannah Limitée (CTSav). These companies run cogeneration thermal power plants that use bagasse and coal for “firm production” (generation throughout the year). Their combined installed capacity is 257 megawatts. This production is supplemented by three continuous producers that produce electricity using only bagasse, during crop season.

Electricity is sold at higher prices by IIPs. To ensure affordability, units are resold to consumers at lower tariffs by CEB. The monopoly and influence of IIPs are expected to decrease with the formation of a utilities regulatory authority (URA) for the energy sector in Mauritius.

Consumption and Mix

Transport and manufacturing are the largest energy consumers. Demand for electricity was expected to increase considerably with projects such as the Mauritius Jinfei Economic Trade and Cooperation Trade Zone, a joint economic venture with China that was announced in 2006 and begun in 2009. That project largely stalled, but growth of the information technology and medical tourism industries were also expected to increase future energy demand.

Renewables

Climate change and sea-level rise are major threats to this small-island developing state. Because 80 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from the combustion of fuels for energy, the country aims to increase its efforts to reach sustainable development goals outlined in the Maurice Île Durable vision.

As a first measure, 1 million compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) at subsidized prices were sold to residential consumers in 2008, and the resulting peak demand reduction was estimated to be 14.36 megawatts. In 2021, about 13 percent of the country's energy needs were met by renewables, of which bagasse contributed about 92 percent.

Bibliography

"Mauritius." CIA World Factbook, 30 July 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mauritius/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

"Mauritius." International Energy Agency, 2024, www.iea.org/countries/mauritius. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

"Mauritius." US Energy Information Administration, 2022, www.eia.gov/international/overview/country/MUS. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.