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Madagascar combines one of the world's lowest electrification rates (39.4 % in 2023) with 7,800 MW of hydropower potential, most of it untapped. Diesel dependence keeps tariffs high and supply fragile — the State now imports fuel directly for JIRAMA. Run-of-river hydro, mini-grids and solar hybridisation are the practical route to scale access.
| Electricity access (WDI) | 39.4 % (2023) |
| Installed capacity | ≈2.5 TWh / year (consumption) |
| Hydropower potential | 7,800 MW (World Bank study, 2014) |
| Utility / grid operator | JIRAMA |
| Key fact | Volobe 120 MW — expected to add ≈20 % to national supply (Africa50 / CGHV) |
Data: World Bank World Development Indicators (EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, 2023), CC BY 4.0 · IHA country profiles.
Run-of-river hydro fits Madagascar's topography and scattered demand: most regional towns run on isolated mini-grids that today burn diesel at very high cost. Replacing or hybridising that base with 100 kW–15 MW hydro plants — plus solar where hydrology is seasonal — cuts generation cost permanently and keeps energy spending in the local economy.
Ageing public plants create a second market: refurbishment. Runners, governors, excitation and control systems on 1980s-era units can be rebuilt to original drawings and upgraded with digital governors and SCADA, recovering lost output without new civil works — exactly the retrofit service TC × HIER and HIER operate in-country.