Plans are currently underway for the US State Department to lead a power sector mission to four African countries including Nigeria in 2012. The other countries are Tanzania, Mozambique, and Ghana.
Sources quoting the assistant secretary of state for Africa, Ambassador Johnny Carson say the  investment-oriented tour is likely to be in conjunction with the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).
The plan is an offshoot of the 2011 US-Africa Business Summit that held in Washington D.C which  attracted participants from the U.S. and African governments, including power/energy ministers from Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ghana, as well as senior officers of financial institutions.
The forum provided African decision makers in the power sector and American investors a unique opportunity to gather for discussions about energy-sector investment opportunities and related expectations. Energy infrastructure plays an important role in African economies and is critical for development. By implementing reforms and learning from best practices, African governments and their development partners are taking solid steps towards resolving Africa’s power crisis. Improving incentives for private investors is a key part of any strategy for catalyzing American investment in the sector.
 These initiatives not only help to close the demand-resources gap and improve the management of services in the energy sector, they also contribute towards long-term improvements in Africa’s overall investment environment
Assessing the biennial summit, the CCA stated in its latest journal  that three sessions during the forum addressed key current issues in African power sector development: (1) Accelerating Africa’s Development through Power Sector Financing: Options, Challenges and Benefits; (2) Powering Africa’s Development Goals through Public Private Partnership (PPP) Initiative in the Power Sector; and (3) Climate Change and Sustainable Power Sector Development in Africa: The Imperative for Renewable Energy Alternatives. Among the  speakers and moderators were Bart Nnaji, Nigeria’s minister of power; William Ngeleja, Tanzania’s minister for energy and minerals; Paul Hinks, CEO, CCA Member Symbion Power; Carlos Pascual, U.S. Department of State special envoy for international energy affairs; Nils Tcheyan, CCA Member General Electric director for Africa energy policy; Steven Adu, executive secretary for Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission; Noel Obiora, California Public Utilities Commission senior public utilities counsel; and Fisoye Delano, senior vice president (gas & power) at CCA Member CAMAC International Corporation.
The speakers agreed that there are huge opportunities for private sector participation in the African power sector. They however pointed out that robust legal and regulatory reforms by African governments geared towards attracting private sector participation in the power sector are fundamental to unlocking the sector for private investment.