Global Courant 2023-04-11 18:19:33
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have launched a new regional initiative to improve the sustainability of the electricity sector in Eastern and Southern Africa through harmonized regulatory frameworks.
The initiative, called “Regional Harmonization of Regulatory Frameworks and Tools for Improved Electricity Regulation in COMESA”, aims to establish effective, transparent, unified and enforceable regulatory frameworks in the region.
The ultimate goal is to stimulate cross-border electricity trade and improve access to energy in the COMESA region.
According to a press release sent to EABW News, the project launch, which was conducted at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia jointly by COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe and AfDB Country Manager Raubil Durowoju, will cost approximately $1.5 million costs. .
The project has three main components, including: (i) the elaboration and adoption of regional electricity regulatory principles, and key regulatory and utility performance indicators based on the AfDB’s flagship Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa for the COMESA region; (ii) Harmonized electricity tariff comparison and cost reflectivity assessment framework tool; and (iii) the development of an information and database management system.
COMESA will be the implementing agency for the project, and COMESA’s Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) will be the implementing agency for the project, assisted by the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa (EREA) . The AfDB has provided a $1.5 million grant for the project through the African Development Fund, the bank’s concessional window.
Kapwepwe credited the AfDB for funding the project and noted that it will help establish clear principles, rules, processes and standards to better monitor the progress of the development of the electricity sector.
“Underdeveloped regulatory frameworks and the lack of a framework for monitoring progress complicate implementation modalities and hamper investment decisions on electricity infrastructure projects,” she said.
The current access rate to electricity in the COMESA region is 60%, which means that almost half of the population has no access to electricity.
This has hampered the region’s economic growth, with underdeveloped and underfunded energy infrastructure leading to low levels of electrification and unreliable energy supply.
She stressed that these challenges need to be urgently addressed in order to unlock the full economic potential of the region.
“It is virtually impossible to achieve sustainable development without sufficient investment in electricity infrastructure,” she said. “The lack of access to reliable electricity supplies not only hinders economic growth, but also limits the opportunities for individuals and communities to improve their livelihoods.”
She noted that the COMESA region was, ironically, endowed with vast untapped natural resources necessary for the development of the energy sector.
These include vast solar and wind resources in virtually all member states, significant geothermal energy in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, and abundant hydropower resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Zambia, among others. These resources can be used to meet the energy needs of the region.
Durowoju praised COMESA member states for their commitment to regional integration initiatives and promoting energy infrastructure in the region.
He noted that a consistent and coordinated approach is needed to address the key shortcomings of regional energy infrastructure, in particular regional interconnections, supported by relevant institutional, policy and regulatory reforms at regional level, to achieve a fully integrated, competitive and harmonized electricity market in Africa as envisioned under the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) initiative.
“As the AfDB continues to fund key regional power connections across the continent to boost regional electricity trade, the bank is equally committed to complementing that effort with soft infrastructure initiatives for harmonization of policy and regulatory frameworks,” said Durowoju.
He stressed that, in addition to this COMESA project, the bank is financing similar regulatory harmonization initiatives in SADC, ECOWAS and ECCAS. These efforts contribute to achieving the objectives of the Africa Single Electricity Market.
Participants in the meeting included representatives from the AfDB, the Delegation of the European Union to Zambia and COMESA, the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa and the Regional Association of Energy Regulators of Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA).
