Namibia plans a windpower farm on its southern coast, while the South Africa utility has handed out five million fluorescent bulbs and 140,000 insulating blankets for water heaters, and has paid industrial customers to switch off equipment during periods of high demand.

These progressive ideas are but a postscript in this insightful NY Times article about the power crisis in Africa. Most of the sub-Saharan nations face electricity shortages and unprecedented power crises that mirror -- or presage -- the U.S. experience. Their solution: more power plants, if they can build them.

"Toiling in the Dark: Africa's Power Crisis" (New York Times)

The lack of reliable power is hampering the region's development. Ghana's government leases legions of gas generators to produce emergency power. Angola businesses run private generators to bridge outages, worsening pollution. In Nigeria, only 19 of 79 power plants work.

South Africa, which previously sold excess power to neighboring countries, began in January 2007 to experience rolling blackouts and failures. Eskom, the government power monopoly, knew a decade ago that it would face these shortages, but didn't build the needed power plants.

There's not much power to go around in Africa, and much of the supply goes to energy-intensive industries like mining and smelters.

Sub-Saharan nations are adding about a thousand MW of generation each year, but grids are so ramshackle and poorly maintained that about 40 percent of generated power is lost or stolen.

"Some governments privatized chunks of their power industry in the early 1990s when free-market solutions to public-sector problems were in vogue, leaving it unclear who is ultimately responsible for providing power."

Sound familiar? There hasn't been significant investment in the power transmission and distribution infrastructure in southern Africa in 15-20 years.

The situation in Africa is a classic case for distributed, renewable energy. But the premium cost of solar and wind energy is driving these nations to construct fossil-fueled generating stations as fast as they can in the face of violence and poverty.

Uganda's capital has day-long blackouts and is using huge diesel generators at a time of record oil prices. Uganda's gas stations are now short of diesel for vehicles. With the cost of this approach, the nation could have build two hydroelectric dams. Uganda has hydroelectric power, but the demand is causing water supply problems.

The plan in most of Africa is to build more generation. World Bank financing of power projects in sub-Saharan Africa has grown from $250 million five years ago to $1 billion in 2007. Zambia's utility plans to invest $1.2 billion; South Africa, $20 billion; Congo is planning a hydroelectric station.

The answer, some say, is for nations to cooperate on regional power solutions. One or two large regional plants, they say, could supply power more cheaply and efficiently than dozens of smaller ones.

More on international energy policy.