CAPE TOWN, South Africa, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

The demand for electricity in Africa is growing rapidly. At the same time, political and social stability is increasingly making the continent an attractive investment destination.

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New analysis from Frost Sullivan (http://www.energy.frost.com), 360 Degree Perspective of the African Power Energy Industry, finds that there will be healthy growth in electricity demand of between 4 and 6 per cent between 2008 and 2020.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides a brief synopsis of the research and a table of contents, then send an e-mail to Patrick Cairns, Corporate Communications, at patrick.cairns@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, a brochure will be sent to you by e-mail.

The demand for reliable electricity to develop and industrialise African economies is forcing governments and the private sector to spend on electrification, notes Frost Sullivan Industry Manager Cornelis van der Waal. This, coupled with increased awareness of the benefits derived from electrification and increased finance, is driving this industry.

The ongoing power sector reform programmes across Africa have opened up the power industry to private participation. The reforms have created an environment conducive for power producers to compete in power generation and/or distribution. At the same time, equipment suppliers will increasingly have to compete on service delivery for large-scale projects and an understanding of where growth will take place will assist with business planning.

Strong growth is anticipated in all areas of the power and energy sector in Africa. This will be paralleled by general infrastructure development.

Although expanded funding for projects is available to African utilities, the private sector will have to develop, operate and own more power projects on the continent. This is bringing a host of regulatory and service challenges, but the long-term outlook is bright.

Corruption and political involvement in African power projects has cast a cloud of doubt about future project success, cautions van der Waal. However, sheer demand will result in increased project success.

An in-depth understanding of the long-term strategic development and defining trends in the energy industry in Africa will empower top decision makers to facilitate growth in their businesses in the continent.

360 Degree Perspective of the African Power Energy Industry is a comprehensive overview of this market, giving top level executives the crucial insight they need to guide their participation in the continent's energy sector.

360 Degree Perspective of the African Power Energy Industry is part of the Energy Power Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes research in the following markets: Investment opportunities for Independent Power Producers in East Africa, Southern Africa markets for Independent Power Producers, Strategic Analysis of the Nigerian Electricity Industry, Strategic Analysis of the Kenyan Electricity Industry, South African Transformer Market, and Africa Steam and Gas Turbine Markets. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

Frost Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

360 Degree Perspective of the African Power Energy Industry M35C Contact: Patrick Cairns Corporate Communications - Africa P: +27-18-468-2315 E: patrick.cairns@frost.com http://www.frost.com

Patrick Cairns, Corporate Communications - Africa of Frost Sullivan, +27-18-468-2315, patrick.cairns@frost.com; Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO