Tunisia’s energy system is defined by a difficult contrast. The country has strong solar resources, useful wind corridors and a strategic position between Algeria, Italy and the wider Mediterranean market. However, it still depends heavily on natural gas and imported petroleum products to keep its electricity system, transport network and industries operating.
Domestic oil and gas production has declined from earlier peaks, while energy demand has continued to place pressure on public finances and the national trade balance. Tunisia’s energy independence rate stood at only 34% at the end of March 2026, showing how much of the country’s supply must come from outside its borders. At the same time, renewable capacity has begun to rise more quickly, creating a possible route toward lower import costs and a more balanced electricity mix.
Tunisia’s Energy Problem Is an Import Problem
Tunisia once covered a much larger share of its energy demand through domestic oil and gas production. That position has weakened as older fields have declined and new discoveries have failed to replace lost output at the same rate.
The result is a structural energy deficit. Tunisia imports natural gas, crude oil, refined fuels and other energy products while receiving only limited protection from its own production. Imported energy exposes the economy to world prices, foreign currency pressure and changes in regional supply conditions.
This matters because energy imports are not separate from Tunisia’s wider economic challenges. Higher import costs affect the state budget, electricity subsidies, transport prices and the finances of the national utility. Energy policy is therefore closely linked to fiscal reform, industrial competitiveness and the country’s ability to attract investment.
Tunisia’s geography gives it several advantages. It borders Algeria, one of Africa’s largest gas producers, and sits close to southern Europe. The country is also crossed by the Trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline system connecting Algeria with Italy. Yet Tunisia’s location does not remove its dependence. It makes infrastructure, contracts and political relations central parts of national energy security.
Natural Gas Powers Most of Tunisia’s Electricity
Natural gas is the foundation of Tunisia’s electricity system. More than 90% of electricity generation continues to come from fossil fuels, with gas providing the overwhelming majority. This concentration makes Tunisia’s power supply unusually dependent on the availability and price of one fuel.
Gas-fired power stations offer practical advantages. They can respond to changes in electricity demand, support urban and industrial areas, and provide flexible output when renewable generation changes. Tunisia has also invested in combined-cycle technology, which can produce electricity more efficiently than many older thermal plants.
The main weakness is that domestic gas production does not meet national demand. Through May 2025, imports from Algeria supplied close to 58% of Tunisia’s gas needs. Local production comes from fields operated by the national exploration and production company ETAP and private or international partners.
The Nawara gas field in southern Tunisia was expected to improve energy independence when it entered production in 2020. It became an important domestic source and accounted for around 23% of Tunisia’s local gas production in 2024. However, Nawara has not been large enough to reverse the wider decline in national output.
Tunisia also benefits from the Algerian gas that crosses its territory on the way to Italy. Transit arrangements can provide Tunisia with gas or financial compensation. This gives the country a strategic role in Mediterranean gas trade, but it does not create full control over supply. Changes in Algerian exports, European demand or pipeline agreements can still affect Tunisia’s position.
Reducing gas dependence will require more renewable electricity, stronger transmission infrastructure and better energy efficiency. Gas is likely to remain important for many years, but Tunisia is trying to reduce the share of imported gas needed to generate each unit of electricity.
Oil Production Has Fallen Below Tunisia’s Needs
Oil production began in Tunisia during the 1960s, and the country developed several onshore and offshore fields. El Borma, near the Algerian border, became one of its best-known producing areas. Other production has come from southern Tunisia, the Gulf of Gabès and smaller offshore concessions.
Tunisia is not a major oil producer by North African standards. Its reserves and output are much smaller than those of Algeria or Libya. Production has also declined as mature fields have aged, investment has slowed and exploration has produced limited new supply.
This decline has made Tunisia increasingly dependent on imported crude oil and refined petroleum products. Diesel and gasoline are especially important because road transport dominates passenger and freight movement. Agriculture, fishing, aviation, tourism and industry also rely on petroleum fuels.
Tunisia has domestic refining capacity, including the refinery at Bizerte, but local refining does not cover the full range or volume of national demand. The country therefore imports both crude oil and finished products. This creates exposure to international fuel prices as well as exchange-rate pressure.
Fuel subsidies have traditionally protected households and businesses from the full cost of imported energy. However, subsidies also create a major burden for the national budget when international prices rise. Attempts to reform fuel and electricity prices are economically important but socially difficult, especially when household incomes are under pressure.
Electric vehicles could eventually reduce some oil demand, but the market remains at an early stage. Wider adoption will depend on vehicle prices, charging infrastructure, electricity tariffs and public policy. In the near term, improving public transport and vehicle efficiency may have a larger effect than full electrification.
Coal Has Almost No Role in Tunisia’s Power Grid
Coal is not a central part of Tunisia’s electricity mix. The country does not have a large coal-mining industry, and it has not built its power system around coal-fired generation. This separates Tunisia from countries such as Morocco and South Africa, where coal has played a much larger role in electricity production.
Historically, some coal was used in industrial activity, particularly cement production. Much of this demand was later replaced by petroleum coke, a carbon-heavy by-product of oil refining. Tunisia’s 2024 national energy balance recorded substantial petroleum coke consumption, mainly connected to non-metallic mineral industries such as cement.
The limited role of coal gives Tunisia one advantage during the energy transition: it does not need to close a large fleet of coal power stations or manage the economic decline of major coal-mining regions. However, this does not mean its electricity system is already low carbon. Natural gas still dominates generation, while oil products remain essential to transport and industry.
Tunisia’s main transition challenge is therefore not a coal phaseout. It is the replacement of imported gas and petroleum products with domestic renewable energy, efficiency improvements and stronger electrical infrastructure.
STEG Sits at the Center of the Electricity System
The Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz, commonly known as STEG, is the central institution in Tunisia’s power and gas sectors. The state-owned company plays a major role in electricity generation and controls national transmission and distribution. It also manages much of the country’s natural gas network.
This structure helped Tunisia achieve near-universal electricity access. The national grid reaches almost all households, giving Tunisia one of Africa’s highest electrification rates. The main infrastructure question is no longer basic access. It is whether the grid can remain reliable, affordable and technically ready for a more complex generation mix.
Tunisia’s electricity demand is concentrated around Tunis, coastal cities, tourism centers and industrial regions. Power must also reach inland and southern areas over long distances. Summer cooling demand creates important peaks, while higher temperatures and future desalination needs may increase pressure on the system.
Grid losses, delayed maintenance and STEG’s financial condition have become important concerns. When electricity tariffs do not cover production costs, especially during periods of expensive imported gas, the utility depends more heavily on state support. Weak cost recovery can then reduce the money available for grid upgrades and new investment.
In 2025, the World Bank and Tunisia agreed on a five-year, $430 million energy modernization program. The program is intended to improve STEG’s operational and financial performance, reduce technical and commercial losses, strengthen sector governance and support additional renewable generation.
Tunisia needs this institutional work as much as it needs new solar panels or wind turbines. Renewable projects cannot transform the energy mix if the grid cannot connect them, balance their output and deliver their electricity to major demand centers.
Solar Energy Is Tunisia’s Largest Untapped Advantage
Tunisia has excellent conditions for solar energy, especially in its central and southern regions. Long periods of sunshine, dry land and high solar radiation create strong potential for utility-scale photovoltaic plants as well as rooftop systems.
The southern governorates, including Tataouine, Kebili and Tozeur, are especially suitable for solar development. These areas have lower population density and large spaces where projects can be built. Solar power can also support remote communities, agricultural operations and industrial sites far from the main coastal demand centers.
For many years, Tunisia’s solar development moved more slowly than its physical potential suggested. Regulatory delays, financing problems, public-sector constraints and uncertainty over project approvals limited investment. This gap is now beginning to narrow.
Installed renewable capacity reached about 787 megawatts by June 2025, including approximately 485 megawatts of solar power. By the end of March 2026, Tunisia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy reported that total installed renewable capacity had risen to 1,104 megawatts.
The government has also supported larger private projects through concessions, tenders and power-purchase arrangements. A major solar plant in Kairouan and projects in southern Tunisia illustrate the shift toward larger facilities rather than relying only on small rooftop installations.
Tunisia aims to obtain 35% of its electricity capacity from renewable resources by 2030. Reaching that target will require several gigawatts of additional solar and wind capacity, along with grid improvements, battery storage and faster project approval.
Solar energy offers more than an environmental benefit. Every unit of solar electricity produced in Tunisia can reduce the gas needed at a thermal power station. That can lower import costs, improve the trade balance and reduce the exposure of electricity prices to gas-market volatility.
Wind Power Connects the Northern Coast to the Energy Transition
Tunisia’s wind resources are strongest in northern and northeastern areas, including the regions around Bizerte, Cap Bon and the Gulf of Tunis. Coastal winds and elevated areas provide suitable locations for commercial wind farms.
The country had about 240 megawatts of installed wind capacity by mid-2025. Existing projects have demonstrated that wind power can operate successfully within Tunisia’s electricity system, but development has not yet reached the scale seen in nearby Morocco.
Wind and solar can complement each other. Solar output is strongest during daylight hours, while wind production may continue into the evening or rise during different seasons. A mixed renewable portfolio can therefore reduce some of the variability created by relying on only one technology.
Large wind projects still face land, permitting, financing and grid-connection challenges. Tunisia must also ensure that new capacity is located where transmission lines can carry the electricity without creating congestion.
In early 2026, the government approved plans for major new wind and solar tenders. These plans point toward a much larger role for private investment. Their success will depend on bankable contracts, clear regulation and confidence that STEG can purchase and transmit the electricity produced.
Hydropower, Biomass and Energy Efficiency Fill Smaller Roles
Hydropower exists in Tunisia, but geography and rainfall limit its role. Tunisia does not have the large river systems or mountain water resources found in major hydropower countries. Installed hydroelectric capacity was about 62 megawatts in June 2025, and actual generation can vary with rainfall and reservoir conditions.
Climate change may make hydropower even less predictable. Tunisia already faces water stress, drought and competing demand from cities, farms and tourism. Water management decisions must therefore balance electricity generation with drinking water, irrigation and environmental needs.
Biomass and biogas may offer useful local solutions, especially in agriculture, food processing and waste management. Olive production creates residues that can be used for heat or energy. Animal waste, sewage and landfill gas could also support smaller projects. These resources are unlikely to replace gas on a national scale, but they can reduce waste and serve local industries.
Energy efficiency may provide faster savings than some new generation projects. More efficient air-conditioning, buildings, industrial motors, appliances and public lighting can reduce peak demand. Solar water heaters are also relevant because they replace electricity or gas use without requiring power to pass through the grid.
For Tunisia, efficiency is an energy resource in its own right. Reducing wasted electricity lowers fuel imports and delays the need for expensive new generation capacity.
Tunisia Has No Operating Nuclear Power Plant
Tunisia does not generate electricity from nuclear power and has no operating commercial nuclear reactor. Nuclear energy has appeared in national discussions and feasibility studies, but the country has not made a final commitment to construct a nuclear power station.
Earlier studies considered nuclear electricity as a way to diversify supply, stabilize long-term generation costs and support seawater desalination. Tunisia has cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Agency and has developed scientific and institutional experience in peaceful nuclear applications.
These activities are mainly connected to medicine, agriculture, radiation protection, research and water management rather than commercial power generation. Tunisia has maintained nuclear institutions and technical expertise without moving into reactor construction.
The main barriers are financial and practical. A large nuclear plant would require very high capital investment, long construction periods, a stronger regulatory system and careful integration with a relatively small national grid. Tunisia also has renewable options that can be developed in smaller stages and brought online more quickly.
Small modular reactors could return to the policy discussion in the future, particularly in connection with desalination. However, nuclear power is not currently a major part of Tunisia’s near-term electricity expansion. Solar, wind, gas efficiency and grid investment remain more immediate priorities.
ELMED Could Change Tunisia’s Place in the Mediterranean Grid
One of Tunisia’s most important energy infrastructure projects is ELMED, the planned electricity interconnector between Tunisia and Italy. The project is designed as a 600-megawatt high-voltage direct-current link running under the Mediterranean between the Cap Bon region and Sicily.
ELMED would create Tunisia’s first direct electricity connection with Europe. It is intended to allow electricity to move in both directions, giving Tunisia access to a larger power market and additional support during periods of tight domestic supply.
The interconnector could also make larger renewable projects easier to develop. A national grid can only accept a limited amount of variable electricity if demand is low at the time of generation. Connection to Italy would create a larger market for excess solar and wind power while allowing Tunisia to import electricity when domestic production is insufficient.
The project is expected to strengthen transmission infrastructure inside Tunisia as well. New substations and high-voltage lines will be needed to connect the cable with the wider national system.
ELMED should not be understood only as an export route for green electricity. Its more immediate value may be flexibility. It could reduce Tunisia’s need to solve every supply shortage by burning additional imported gas. Over the longer term, it could help turn Tunisia from an energy-isolated national market into a link between North African and European electricity systems.
Green Hydrogen Offers Promise but Remains a Long-Term Project
Tunisia has also presented itself as a possible producer of green hydrogen and related products such as green ammonia. The idea is to use solar and wind electricity to produce hydrogen without direct fossil fuel emissions.
The country’s advantages include strong renewable resources, existing ports, proximity to Europe and the Trans-Mediterranean pipeline corridor. Proposed hydrogen infrastructure between North Africa and Europe could eventually pass through or connect with Tunisia.
Green hydrogen could serve fertilizer production, shipping, heavy industry or export markets. It may also create investment in southern regions where renewable resources are strongest.
However, hydrogen requires very large amounts of clean electricity and water. Tunisia must first expand renewable generation for its own power system while managing severe water stress. Export projects will also need clear rules to ensure that they do not raise local electricity costs or divert scarce water from communities and agriculture.
For these reasons, green hydrogen should be viewed as a long-term industrial opportunity rather than a solution to Tunisia’s immediate energy deficit.
The Future of Energy in Tunisia Depends on Execution
Tunisia has already identified the main direction of its energy transition. It wants more solar and wind power, lower gas imports, better energy efficiency, stronger private investment and deeper electrical connections with Europe.
The main uncertainty is whether projects can be completed quickly enough. Renewable targets have often moved faster than construction. Financing, regulation, public procurement, land access and STEG’s financial position can all delay implementation.
Tunisia’s energy future will not be based on coal or a rapid nuclear program. Natural gas will remain essential, but its dominance creates economic risk. Oil will continue to support transport, although efficiency and electrification may gradually reduce demand.
The strongest path is a practical combination of domestic renewable generation, grid modernization, regional interconnection and lower energy waste. Tunisia already has the geography and technical potential. Its success will depend on turning that potential into operating infrastructure before declining domestic fuel production makes import dependence even more expensive.