1. Could you start by sharing your overarching vision for the energy sector and the strategy you’re putting in place to deliver it?
Madagascar is at a decisive moment. If we take Sustainable Development Goal 7 as our compass, reliable, sustainable and affordable energy for all, then we must acknowledge that, with just over thirty percent of our people connected, access is still far too low. Our response is codified in a national framework we call the Madagascar Energy Compact. It sets a simple, ambitious target: bring electricity access to eighty percent of Malagasy citizens, and fifty percent of access to clean cooking solutions.
To do that, we have to act on the entire value chain at once. Production is the first bottleneck. Our installed capacity today is roughly 800 megawatts; we need to at least triple that to about 2,000 megawatts. In parallel, we are reinforcing the transmission backbone, particularly new 220-kilovolt very-high-voltage lines, to integrate new hydropower plants and move power reliably across the country. Decades-old substations and distribution assets are being renewed to improve quality and stability for end-users.
Access is not just an urban story. More than seventy-five percent of Malagasy people live in rural areas, so our strategy has a strong decentralized component. We plan to expand our mini- and nano-grid footprint dramatically, there are about 240 mini-grids today, and we intend to at least triple that number. In very remote communities beyond the reach of mini-grids, we will scale the distribution of individual solar kits, both social kits and commercially-financed kits—so no household is left behind. That way, the national grid, local mini-grids and off-grid solar complement each other to achieve universal access.
Reform is the other half of the equation. We are strengthening the regulatory architecture, our Electricity Regulator (formerly ORE) is now ARELEC, the Electricity Regulation Authority, and resourcing the Rural Electrification Development Agency (ADER) so it can execute at pace. And we are clear-eyed about the role of the private sector. The Government, through PPP (public private partnership) will work with private sector. Independent producers already supply power to JIRAMA, our national utility, and the vast majority of mini-grids are privately led. Finally, we are restructuring JIRAMA itself. It has carried losses for years; our objective is to return it to financial balance and, ultimately, sustainable profitability. Only by advancing on all these fronts, generation, networks, regulation, private participation and JIRAMA’s turnaround, can we meet our access goals.
2. What are the toughest barriers to expanding access, and how are you addressing them in practical terms?
The primary challenge is adding clean, affordable generation quickly. Madagascar’s renewable resource base is exceptional. On hydropower alone, our technical potential exceeds 7,800 megawatts; yet we utilize under 300 megawatts today. Several anchor projects are moving: Volobe (120 MW), Sahofika (200 MW), and Ranomafana (64 MW) are in the works, and Antetezambato south of Antananarivo has around 140 MW of potential. A pipeline of smaller hydros will complement these flagships.
At the same time, we will hybridize JIRAMA’s many isolated diesel power plants with solar to cut fuel costs and emissions. Our solar resource, between roughly 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually, with excellent irradiation particularly in the west, supports utility-scale projects and thousands of rooftops. You will see two big pushes: a presidential 50-MW program, of which 30 MW will be injected to the main grid of Antananarivo across four sites, and a 100-MW PV plant near Ivato Airport with a 200-MWh batteries to support Antananarivo’s network. That will raise the renewable share, reduce the use of fuels in general and especially in the dry season, and relieve costs pressures.
Wind also has a role. A 16-MW wind farm in the south, privately developed to support an industrial off-taker, is nearing completion, and northern sites show promising resource for future projects. In short, our build-out is diversified: large hydro for baseload, solar with storage for flexibility, wind where the resource proves strong, and systematic hybridization of legacy fuels across the archipelago of isolated grids.
3. You mentioned partnerships with the Gulf. How does international cooperation, particularly with the UAE and wider GCC, fit your plans?
It is already bearing fruit. Following Madagascar’s business forum engagements in the Emirates, we presented our hydro, solar and wind opportunities, as well as the urgent need for transmission and distribution investment. One concrete outcome is our partnership with Masdar for an initial solar park of 50 megawatts with a 25-MWh battery about one hundred kilometers from Antananarivo, an important first step from a GCC energy champion.
Cooperation with Gulf institutions is equally vital in clean cooking, which is often overlooked but central to our Energy Compact. More than ninety-five percent of Malagasy households still cook with wood or charcoal, an enormous burden on health and forests. Our target is to bring modern, clean cooking solutions to more than half of the population. We are in active dialogue with the OPEC Fund and with Saudi programs focused on expanding clean cooking access in Africa, and Madagascar is among the priority countries. So the partnership agenda is broad : electricity generation and grids, yes, but also clean cooking at scale.
4. What regulatory reforms are you advancing to enhance competitiveness, transparency and sustainability?
We started by refreshing the legal underpinnings. The Electricity Code (2017) set the market rules for generation, transmission, distribution and supply. We are updating the Code and its decrees to clarify authorizations, concessions and land access, and to strengthen the regulator’s role through ARELEC. Up next are tariff reforms and the operationalization of sustainable energy funds to crowd in private capital while protecting consumers.
Two market features are noteworthy. First, self-producers: the law already allows companies to generate for their own use. We are designing a structured buy-back mechanism for their surplus, enabling JIRAMA to purchase excess energy where that makes sense operationally and economically. Second, rural tariffs: as we multiply mini- and nano-grids, we will modernize pricing frameworks to balance financial viability for operators with affordability for rural customers, distinct from urban JIRAMA clients. Across all of this sits a growing role for carbon finance in clean power and clean cooking, which we intend to harness responsibly.
5. Your ministry recently announced a landmark agreement with Global South Utilities to build a major solar PV plant with storage near Moramanga. What does this project aim to achieve, and why that location?
The objective is straightforward: inject significant, low-cost renewable energy into the Antananarivo Interconnected Network. Moramanga sits on the eastern flank of that grid, roughly a hundred kilometers from the capital. Peak supply on the Antananarivo system hovers around 250 megawatts today, and demand far exceeds that, particularly from businesses and unserved residential neighborhoods. The Moramanga plant adds dependable daytime capacity, supported by a utility-scale battery to smooth variability and shift energy into evening peaks.
The site is also strategic for grid development. Our planned 220-kV “PRIRTEM 1” transmission line will link the port city of Toamasina (Tamatave) to Antananarivo, crossing near Moramanga. That allows the plant to tie into a stronger east-west backbone as it is commissioned, improving system resilience. Land availability was another enabler, the plot is state-owned, which simplifies preparation and accelerates delivery. Combine that with the presidential 30-MW urban solar initiative I mentioned earlier, and you start to see a meaningful solar portfolio stabilizing Antananarivo’s supply mix and cutting diesel consumption in the dry months.
6. Stepping back, why is energy so central to Madagascar’s broader development plan, and what message would you leave with international investors?
The President frames national transformation around three pillars: human capital, industrialization, and good governance. Energy is a keystone for all three. Clinics, schools and digital public services cannot function without reliable electricity. Farmers, artisans and SMEs cannot move up the value chain without power for irrigation, cold chains and processing. Large investors, from tourism to agri-industry and manufacturing, need bankable energy projects to commit capital. There is, in truth, no development without energy.
That is why we are pursuing reforms with urgency, inviting private partners to invest across generation, transmission, distribution, mini-grids and clean cooking. The market is open; the regulatory pathways are being clarified and strengthened; and the need is undeniable. We are committed to ensuring there is room for everyone, State and private sector together, for the benefit of the Malagasy people and economy. For investors, the invitation is clear: bring technology, capital and long-term partnership to a country that is determined to power inclusive, sustainable growth.
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