TransAfrica Power Backbone Begun
Construction of the TransAfrica Power Backbone (TAPB), a network of power lines planned to stretch from Cairo in the north to Pretoria in the south, officially began today, after months of wrangling over details such as land usage rights, maintenance responsibilities, and even the choice of alternating current or direct current. Although some elements of the Backbone plan remain uncertain, the project now has sufficient support that deployment of towers and cables could begin.
One key question was answered in late negotiations: Individuals and communities will have the right to contribute power to, not simply draw power from, the TAPB grid.