HE Hela Cheikhrouhou, Minister of Energy, Mining and Renewables of Tunisia, presents the Tunisian Energy Strategy as honorary guest of OME EXCO in Rome, Italy
The EXCO meeting kindly hosted by Edison on 2 December 2016 in Rome, was followed by a special session on the Tunisian Energy Strategy with participation as guest speaker of HE Hela Cheikhrouhou, Minister of Energy, Mining and Renewables in Tunisia. The event was attended by around 30 participants: EXCO members and guests (TERNA, EC, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, WEC Italy…).
Marco Margheri on behalf of Edison and Chairman Bruno Lescoeur on behalf of OME warmly welcomed HE Minister Cheikhrouhou.
HE Minister Cheikhrouhou then presented the main outline of the 2030 Tunisian energy strategy that was adopted just two weeks earlier, which endorsed a vision and a clear action plan.
The Strategy aims at rebuilding Tunisian’s reserve of energies and strengthening the country capacity to guarantee its energy independence in terms of fossil energy and primary energy production through the revision of the role of the state which is called to simplify procedures for granting permits (prospection and research…) and make life easier to Tunisian’s partners. The 2030 Tunisian energy strategy also plans to reach 30% of renewable energies in 2030. The implementation of the power production programme through renewable energies as part of this strategy will be carried out by the public and private sectors (50/50) over the 2017/2020 period with an overall capacity of 1,000 MW and around 1,250 MW for the 2020/2025 period.
Strengthening the electricity grid is also of high importance in the strategy in addition to developing smart grids and energy efficiency solutions. Energy efficiency will be further promoted by improving energy intensity by 3% per year during 2016-2030. The strategy also aims to save energy by 17% during the period 2016-2020.
Creating jobs is also in the heart of the energy transition in Tunisia. “The growth has to be shared, inclusive and just and the ultimate goal is to supply all Tunisian citizens with affordable, sustainable, competitive and reliable energy” concluded Minister Cheikhrouhou.
A lively debate followed the presentation. Participants unanimously congratulated HE Minister Cheikhrouhou highlighting that Tunisia is going in the right direction by mixing gas and renewables, the most reliable and competitive energies, in addition to promoting energy efficiency. They also agreed that this strategy is happening in a good time, benefiting from the experiences in particular in the field of renewables, which will help avoiding some errors and benefiting from best practices. In this context, OME which is the unique regional organisation dealing with all energies and through its Tunisian members ETAP and STEG can support the implementation of the strategy.