NRECA Brings Lights and Hope to Yei, South Sudan

On October 1, 2005, an inauguration ceremony was held in the town of Yei, Southern Sudan sponsored by the Government of South Sudan, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Yei River County Council. In attendance were First Vice President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, Allan Reed, the Director of United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Sudan Field Office, and other dignitaries. The purpose of the ceremony was to recognize completion of the first phase of construction for a new generation and electric distribution system, a project managed by NRECA International, Ltd. and financed by USAID/Sudan Field Office. The first phase of the project included completion of a street lighting circuit that illuminates key government offices, the central market in Yei, Freedom Square, and several streets in downtown Yei. This project symbolizes hope and economic opportunity for this war ravaged region of Sudan.

With the finalization of the Intergovernmental Authority On Development (IGAD) led peace process earlier this year, the Government of Sudan (GoS) in conjunction with the newly formed Government of South Sudan(GoSS), and other donors are developing a blueprint to reestablish physical and institutional infrastructure required to build a new basis for a functional civil society. One component of this plan is to develop electric generation and distribution resources in the major Southern Sudan towns.

Thus in July 2005, USAID signed a cooperative agreement with NRECA International to perform three basic tasks. First, USAID requested NRECA to build a generation and distribution system in the town of Yei, including and initially focusing on construction of a street lighting circuit, later to be expanded to include an electric distribution system to serve residential, commercial, institutional, and small industrial clients. With the street light circuit complete, NRECA will shift focus to establishing sound electric utility management practices and capacity building to establish a highly functioning electric utility to manage the new infrastructure established in Yei. Lastly, USAID requested that NRECA perform a number of feasibility studies in other South Sudan towns, including Rumbek, Juba, Yambio, Wau, among others.

The urgency in the request to rapidly complete the street lighting circuit was intended to illustrate the dividends of the peace deal to people throughout South Sudan, as well as to improve evening security within Yei itself. To accomplish this project, NRECA fielded an experienced team of Myk Manon and Mark Tribble to undertake the aforementioned tasks. U.S. cooperative volunteers were recruited, including Ashley Johnson of Horry Electric Cooperative in South Carolina, and Bob Dalton, a former cooperative and NRECA employee lineman, to assist the NRECA/Yei team in the installation process in the general town and market area.

With the street lights in the town’s Freedom Square and market finished, construction on the primary and secondary distribution system will continue over the coming months, together with construction and installation of a powerhouse and diesel power generation system that will provide power for many years to come. NRECA International plans to provide interim management services for the utility, train local staff, and evaluate ownership and governance options for the eventual transition from NRECA management to local management in the last year of implementation.