USEA Chief Executive Officer Mark W Menezes to Support Africa’s Energy Transformation at AEW 2025

Through the USEA and programs like EUPP, African countries are building stronger, smarter and more resilient energy systems

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 25, 2025/APO Group/ --

Mark W. Menezes, President and CEO of the United States Energy Association (USEA), joins a roster of high-level speakers at this year’s African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025 conference – taking place from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town. Bringing decades of experience bridging public and private sector energy leadership, Menezes’s participation at AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 underscores the U.S.’s enduring commitment to supporting Africa’s energy transformation through strategic partnerships, technical assistance and investment facilitation.

At the helm of the USEA, Menezes oversees the Energy Utility Partnership Program (EUPP), a flagship initiative supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which supports national utilities and energy institutions across sub-Saharan Africa in expanding access to electricity, integrating renewable energy, improving grid stability and strengthening institutional capacity. The USEA currently operates in more than a dozen African countries, with long-standing partnerships in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Djibouti and Ethiopia as well as across regional power pools like the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), Eastern Africa Power Pool and the West Africa Power Pool.

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In Uganda, the USEA has partnered with the country’s Uganda Electricity Generation Company, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company and major distribution companies including Umeme and the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company. Through a wide-ranging support program, USEA has delivered significant results including the development of a national Energy Mix Diversification Strategy, the certification of asset management personnel and significant cost savings by replacing foreign contractors with locally trained hydropower maintenance teams.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, the USEA supports utilities including the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company and other public and private entities through the East Africa Regional Transmission Planning Program. The initiative has helped develop the region’s first integrated load flow planning model to strengthen cross-border energy planning between Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The USEA has also been deeply engaged in Senegal since 2015, supporting the country’s national electricity company SENELEC in managing a growing portfolio of energy projects through technical assistance in project management, procurement and power system modeling. In Ethiopia, the USEA played a key role in the drafting and passage of the country’s Geothermal Resource Development Proclamation, which created the legal foundation for private investment in Ethiopia’s vast geothermal potential. The USEA also helped Ethiopia Electric Power secure a $7.7 million grant through the African Union Commission’s Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility to advance development of the Alalobeda geothermal field.

Meanwhile, the USEA, in collaboration with the SAPP, facilitated executive exchanges, helped reform governance bylaw and supported the development of regional frequency and environmental guidelines aligned with international standards. As such, AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 is set to serve as a critical platform for the USEA to deepen its partnerships with African utilities, regulators and private sector stakeholders. As Africa continues to balance the urgent need for energy access with long-term sustainability and industrialization goals, the USEA’s technical support, training programs and planning tools offer frameworks for reform and investment readiness.

“Through the USEA and programs like EUPP, African countries are building stronger, smarter and more resilient energy systems. AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 will provide the ideal forum to accelerate this momentum,” states Tomás Gerbasio, VP of Commercial and Strategic Engagement, African Energy Chamber.