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p. 5 of 30 BACK | NEXT Introduction Regional Energy Context Region's Diversity Commercial Energy Past Bank Assistance Capital Requirements for Expansion Energy Policy Issues Conclusions and Recommendations

Bank Policy Initiatives for the Energy Sector : Regional Energy Context

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Past Bank Assistance

7. In line with the growing DMC needs, the Bank's average annual lending in the energy sector increased from $0.5 billion in the early 1980s to $1.7 billion in the early 1990s. As of 31 December 1993, the Bank's cumulative energy sector lending had reached $12.2 billion or 26 per cent of the Bank's overall lending, and supported over 200 energy projects. Power generation, transmission, and distribution projects have accounted for $9.4 billion, or 77 percent of this; a major part of the power subsector lending was for the increase in generation facilities. The hydrocarbon subsector (oil, natural gas, and coal) has accounted for $2.8 billion, or 23 percent, with the major share directed to natural gas development. In the 1970s, the Bank focused through project loans on designing and implementing well-formulated projects. In the 1980s, the Bank used both the project lending and sector lending modalities to focus on institutional issues relating to organizational efficiency and subsector issues such as planning and pricing. In the 1990s, a modest beginning has been made in policy-based program lending in the hydrocarbon subsector, focusing on divestments and subsector efficiency. Judging from postevaluation of 82 completed energy projects, a measure of success has been achieved: 65 projects (79 percent) were found generally successful, 16 projects (20 percent) partially successful, and only one project (1percent) unsuccessful. The Bank has also provided $85 million of technical assistance (TA) to the DMCs' energy sector, with nearly two thirds ($56 million) of it being for the power subsector.

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