In 2022, electricity consumption in São Tomé & Príncipe was about 400 kWh per person, just over a tenth of the global average of 3,853 kWh per person. Low-carbon electricity generation amounted to 44 kWh per person, equivalent to roughly 11% of consumption, leaving almost nine tenths dependent on fossil electricity if domestic generation supplied all consumption. This highlights the need to expand clean electricity rather than deepen dependence on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change and air pollution. Such low electricity availability can constrain healthcare, refrigeration, education and business activity, while limiting opportunities for electrification and digital services.

Is Electricity Growing in São Tomé & Príncipe?

The latest figures do not show electricity reaching new heights in São Tomé & Príncipe. Consumption in 2022 was 142 kWh per person below its 2016 record of 540 kWh—roughly a quarter lower. Low-carbon generation was also below its earlier peak: 44 kWh per person compared with 69 kWh in 2000, a decline of about 36%. These comparisons do not establish that every intervening year saw a decline, but they reveal a worrying retreat from previous achievements. Restoring growth, especially in clean electricity, would help meet existing needs and future demand.

Suggestions

Solar should be a priority for expanding low-carbon electricity, supported by grid improvements and storage. Brazil, with 88 TWh of solar generation, and the US state of Florida, with 33 TWh, offer relevant warm-climate examples, although their electricity systems are much larger. São Tomé & Príncipe can learn from their deployment experience while choosing projects suited to its own communities and grid. Wind could also contribute where local measurements establish suitable conditions; Portugal’s 13 TWh illustrates its potential contribution. Nuclear should be considered in long-term electricity planning, drawing on the operational expertise of France, which generates 373 TWh from nuclear, and exploring appropriately scaled technologies and international partnerships. These figures illustrate successful clean electricity deployment, not directly transferable output targets.

History

The supplied history shows little recorded movement in hydroelectric generation. Throughout the listed years of the 2000s, from 2002 through 2009, annual changes were reported as zero TWh. The same pattern appears in the listed years of the 2010s and continues from 2020 through 2022. Because the figures are rounded and some years are absent, they cannot establish that generation was completely unchanged throughout the period. Nevertheless, they show no recorded substantial hydro expansion—a disappointing pattern given the need for more clean electricity. Adding solar and exploring other low-carbon options would help move beyond this prolonged stagnation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade