RAERESA

Lusaka, Wednesday, 5 June 2024: The development of an Information Management System (IMS) for the energy sector in eastern and southern Africa is underway, with regional experts meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, from 5 to 6 June 2024 to review progress.

The IMS aims to bridge the current information gap in the energy sector and establish a robust information and database management system. This system will facilitate the synchronization and harmonization of energy data collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination among the Member States of the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA).

Upon its launch, the IMS will be hosted at the COMESA Secretariat. This centralized information and database system will allow member countries to directly input and retrieve information according to pre-defined templates. It will also enhance the capacity of regulators, participating utilities, and other relevant stakeholders within RAERESA/COMESA to upload, manage, update, and retrieve information.

This initiative is part of the African Development Bank (AfDB) funded USD$1.5 million project on Regional Harmonization of Regulatory Frameworks and Tools for Improved Electricity Regulation in the COMESA region. The project aims to promote cross-border power trading by advancing intra-regional harmonization of electricity regulations across the 12 COMESA member states, which include Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda, with the addition of South Sudan.

The consultative workshop is attended by 29 regional energy stakeholders from the participating countries. They are reviewing the draft system specifications compiled by the consulting firm before the IMS can be fully developed and launched. The delegates will also consider and approve the interim IMS system architecture and specifications developed by the consulting firm.

Participants include energy ICT experts from the 12 Member States, the Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP), the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa (EREA), and the COMESA Secretariat. RAERESA is the energy regulatory arm of COMESA.

During the opening of the workshop, RAERESA Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mohamedain Seif Elnasr, emphasized the importance of the review in shaping the consultant’s report and preparing for the eventual launch of the IMS.

“I urge you to use this opportunity to share experiences and best practices,” he said. “Integration is a process, and regulation in the energy sector is new for most of our Member States, but we will get there.”

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Lufunda Muzeya, Risk Manager at the Energy Regulation Board of Zambia. Zambia is the current Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Capacity, Information Exchange, Energy Statistics & Database of RAERESA.

The Project on Regional Harmonization of Regulatory Frameworks and Tools for Improved Electricity Regulation in COMESA is being jointly implemented with the EREA, based in Arusha, Tanzania.

Lusaka, Tuesday, 11 April 2023 – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have launched a new regional initiative to enhance the sustainability of the electricity sector in Eastern and Southern Africa through harmonized regulatory frameworks.

The initiative, named “Regional Harmonization of Regulatory Frameworks and Tools for Improved Electricity Regulation in COMESA,” aims at effective, transparent, uniform, and enforceable regulatory frameworks in the region. The ultimate objective is to stimulate cross-border electricity trade and improve energy access in the COMESA region The launch was conducted today at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia, jointly by the COMESA Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe and the AfDB Country Manager Mr. Raubil Durowoju.

The project comprises three key components, including: (i) the Elaboration and Adoption of Regional Electricity Regulatory Principles, and Regulatory and Utility Key Performance Indicators based on the AfDB’s flagship Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa for the COMESA region; (ii) Harmonised Comparison of Electricity Tariffs and Cost Reflectivity Assessment Framework Tool; and (iii) the development of an Information and Database Management System.

COMESA will be the executing agency for the Project, and the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) of COMESA will be the implementing agency of the project, assisted by the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa (EREA). The AfDB has provided a USD1.5m grant for the project through the African Development Fund — the concessional window of the Bank.

Appreciating the AfDB for funding the project, Ms Kapwepwe noted it will support in establishing clear principles, rules, processes, and standards to enhance monitoring of progress of the electricity sector’s development.

“Under-developed regulatory frameworks and the absence of a framework for monitoring progress complicates implementation modalities and inhibits investment decisions on electricity infrastructure projects,” she said.

The current electricity access rate in the COMESA region stands at 60%, meaning that almost half of the population lacks access to electricity. This has hindered the region’s economic growth, with underdeveloped and underfunded energy infrastructure leading to low levels of electrification and unreliable energy supply.

She emphasized that these challenges need to be addressed urgently to unlock the region’s full economic potential.

“It is virtually impossible to achieve sustainable development without adequate investment in electricity infrastructure,” she said. “The lack of access to reliable electricity supply not only hinders economic growth but also limits opportunities for individuals and communities to improve their livelihoods.”

She noted that the COMESA region was, ironically endowed with enormous unexploited natural resources required for power sector development. 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 Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, and Zambia, among others. These resources could be utilized to meet the energy needs of the region.

Mr. Durowoju commended COMESA Member States for their commitment to regional integration initiatives and advancing energy infrastructure in the region.

He noted that, a consistent and coordinated approach to addressing key regional energy infrastructure deficits, particularly regional interconnections, supported by relevant Institutional, Policy and Regulatory Reforms at the regional level will be required to achieve a fully integrated, competitive, and harmonized electricity market in Africa as envisaged under the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) initiative.

“While the AfDB continues to finance key regional power interconnectors across the continent to boost regional electricity trade, the Bank is equally committed to complementing that effort with soft infrastructure initiatives on harmonization of policy and regulatory frameworks” Mr. Durowoju said and further emphasized that, in addition to this COMESA project, the Bank is funding similar regulatory harmonization initiatives in SADC, ECOWAS, and ECCAS. These efforts contribute to achieving the goals under the Africa Single Electricity Market.

Participants to the meeting included representatives of the AfDB, the European Union Delegation to Zambia and COMESA, the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa, and the Regional Association of Energy Regulators of Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA).

Download the Press Release by clicking on the link below

Press Release – Electricity Regulation improvement project launched

The Board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a grant of US$1.5m to advance intra-regional harmonization of electricity regulations and drive cross-border power trading in the COMESA region. This will be implemented through COMESA’s energy regulatory arm -the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA).

The two-year project seeks to provide tools for harmonizing regulatory frameworks to facilitate the smooth and timely completion, utilization and operation of regional energy infrastructure-a move that is expected to further enhance regional electricity trade, which is critical to COMESA noted RAERESA Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohamedain El-Seif.

He added that the grants will fund technical assistance to promote the development and adoption of regional electricity regulatory principles, enhance capacity to monitor utility performance across the region, conduct a cross-border analysis of electricity tariffs, and develop a centralized database management system in both blocs.

The project comprises four components which include Elaboration and Adoption of Regional Electricity Regulatory Principles (RERP) and Key Performance Indicators for COMESA. It will involve technical assistance to COMESA for the adoption of regulatory performance indicators from the Bank’s flagship Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa (ERI), contextualization and adoption of same and application of the adopted indicators for monitoring uniform regulatory performance in the region by RAERESA.

Component two will involve technical assistance to COMESA for the adoption and application of uniform Key Performance Indicators for monitoring utility performance across the region and support the collection and reporting on these indicators.

The project will also assist the region to have a harmonized comparison of electricity tariffs and develop a Cost Reflectivity Assessment Framework Tool (CRAFT). This component will involve technical assistance to COMESA to undertake a comparative analysis of electricity tariffs and drivers of tariffs across the electricity value chain in the region and developing a cost reflectivity assessment tool to track progress made by countries in migrating their tariffs towards cost reflectivity levels.

The fourth component is the Development of Information and Database Management System (IDBMS). This will involve technical assistance to RAERESA to develop a centralized database management system that will provide a platform for collecting data from member countries, store and disseminate regulatory and other relevant energy information.

The percentage of the COMESA population with access to electricity is on average around 60%, but projections indicate that it will be around 80% by 2040. This will however depend on heavily investing in energy infrastructure in the next ten years.

According to an update presented at the 10^th Annual General Meeting of the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA), the total installed capacity for electric power in the 21 COMESA countries is around 92,000 megawatts.

The low level and coverage of physical energy infrastructure is due to insufficient investment in the energy sector, inefficiency and unreliability of existing energy infrastructure services, increased demand for economic and population growth.

In a statement delivered at the AGM, the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Dr Mohamed Shaker, said that the current regional economic growth trends require a corresponding growth in energy infrastructure. Hence the need to address the supply side constraints especially energy infrastructure, to ensure accelerated regional integration and growth.

“Increased investment in infrastructure should be supported by associated policy initiatives that promote generation, maintenance and efficient utilization of infrastructure capacity,” he said. His statement was delivered by Dr. Mohamed Omran, Executive Chairperson of the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA).

Speaking at the same meeting, Assistant Secretary General in Charge of Programmes in COMESA, Dr Kipyego Cheluget said the high cost of operating energy infrastructure facilities and inability to prepare bankable projects are major impediment to the expansion of the manufacturing sector the region.

“It is however encouraging to note that most countries have realized that for any meaningful economic and human transformation to be realized, universal access to energy should be at the centre augmented by a strong political will and sustainable policy and legislative framework,” he said.

He said COMESA has established specialized agencies including RAERESA and the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) to support the region towards energy sufficiency. It has also adopted the COMESA Model Energy Policy Framework which has introduced reforms in the energy sector in an effort to enhance energy security, accessibility, affordability and reliability in the region.

As a result, two countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Djibouti have recently established their electricity regulators thus joining Ethiopia, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in that group.

Chairperson of the Plenary of the RAERESA, Mr. Daniel Bargoria, who is also the Acting Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), Kenya, said market governance and regulatory related challenges impacts the implementation of energy projects.

“There is a huge energy gap in the region accounted for by missing links and maintenance backlog thereby calling for narrowing of the gap if the region is to accelerate regional economic development for the benefit of the people,” he said.

The meeting also called on RAERESA to continue engaging with the countries which are in the process of establishing their regulators to give impetus to the full establishment of effective energy regulators.

COMESA Secretariat working with the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) conducted a one-day virtual sensitization workshop on Monday 24 May 2021 for Libyan stakeholders on the regional energy programme and projects.

The objective was to appraise the stakeholders on the COMESA energy programme with specific focus on the RAERESA whose mandate includes the promotion of regional energy regulation and protection of consumer welfare and facilitating integration of the energy markets.

RAERESA Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohamedain Seif Elnasr said Member States had adopted the report on the status of the energy efficiency and environment in the electricity sector in the region. Subsequently, several energy guidelines, including feed-in-tariffs guidelines, public private partnership guidelines, guidelines on regulatory framework on off-grid electrification and guidelines on joint development of a project have been developed.

“Using the renewable energy guidelines, some COMESA Member States such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia have managed to attract investments in the sector through independent Power Producers,” Dr Elnasr said.

COMESA countries have continued to implement energy reforms using the RAERESA guidelines by adopting transformation plans on the structure, operation, and financing of their state-owned operators. These are articulated in their national energy policies which are compliant to the COMESA Model Energy Policy Framework.

The COMESA Energy Programme promotes regional cooperation in energy development, trade and capacity building to address the supply side constraints, reduce the cost of doing business and enhance regional and global energy market competitiveness.

COMESA Energy Economist, Mr Malama Chileshe informed the delegates that despite notable accomplishments recorded in the energy sector, the region however lagged infrastructure development, which could partly be addressed through public, public partnerships.

The total installed power generation capacity in the region is gradually rising and is now estimated at 95,945 megawatts from 65,791 megawatts in 2016 and 48, 352megawatts in 2012.

The Eastern-Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) is developing a framework for regulatory oversight for the regional energy market to guide cross border power trading. The final report of the framework has now been presented to the COMESA Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) by the Consultants contracted to undertake the assignment.

The framework covers five Regional Economic Communities (RECs), including Easter African Community (EAC), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and their specialized energy agencies, association of energy regulators, power pools and centres for renewable energy and energy efficiency for consideration.

COMESA /RAERESA Chief Executive Officer Dr Mohamedain Seif Elnasr said in Lusaka that this activity is part of the European Union (EU) funded project on Enhancement of a Sustainable Regional Energy Market in the EA-SA-IO Region. Among the key areas of focus is harmonization and environmental sustainability.

On harmonization of regulations, the report recommends that priority areas should include licensing guidelines, regulations for license applications and processing by national and regional regulatory bodies, and standard license conditions for generation, transmission, distribution, import/export and system operation.

The report further recommends harmonization of network regulations including transmission connection/use of system agreements, network tariffs, grid code and associated technical standards. It advocates for harmonization of market access regulations, market surveillance regulations and dispute resolution procedures.

Measures to address environmental sustainability through the regulation of the regional energy market are also proposed. These include encouraging renewable energy generation facilitating regional interconnection and increased focus on supply side and demand side energy efficiency.

Regulations that help to address these issues include defining procedures to cover integrated resource planning, transmission expansion planning, and strategic environmental assessment.