Forbes: 'Power Africa' Plan Greases Billions In Deals For General Electric

[Emily]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/07/01/with-power-africa-plan-obama-to-grease-billions-in-deals-for-g-e/

Christopher Helman Christopher Helman Forbes Staff

I'm based in Houston, Texas. Energy capital of the world.
Energy 7/01/2013 @ 12:39PM 35,507 views
Obama's 'Power Africa' Plan Greases Billions In Deals For General Electric

President Obama talks with General Electric Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Cape Town, South Africa over the weekend, President Obama talked about a new energy plan called “Power Africa.” He described it as “a new initiative that will double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.” The president implied that the U.S. government will invest $7 billion in taxpayer money to help bring 10,000 mw of electricity to sub-Saharan Africa. Electricity, he said, is “the lifeline for families to meet their most basic needs and it’s the connection needed to plug Africa into the grid of the global economy. You’ve got to have power.”

Providing that power could be a real boon to American (and global) companies focused on power generation and energy management. Indeed, as the president said, “my own nation will benefit enormously if you reach full potential.”

One of the big partners for the president’s plan is General Electric . Among the private companies that the president said have “committed more than $9 billion in investment” to the Power Africa project, G.E. appears to be front and center. According to the White House statement on Power Africa, “General Electric commits to help bring online 5,000 megawatts of new, affordable energy through provision of its technologies, expertise and capital in Tanzania and Ghana.”...

His own nation didn't benefit from GE outsourcing tech jobs to Canada under NAFTA and leaving many older workers without decent health insurance, effectively until they are old enough to qualify to Medicare. (10, 15 yrs?) But that happened in the west coast Washington, not his Washington (DC), which is another nation entirely, IMO, so perhaps he is correct after all.