COMESA, AfDB launch electricity project for member countries

A new regional initiative to enhance the sustainability of the electricity sector in Eastern and Southern Africa through harmonised regulatory frameworks has been unveiled.

The initiative has been launched by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

The initiative, dubbed “Regional Harmonisation of Regulatory Frameworks and Tools for Improved Electricity Regulation in COMESA,” aims at effective, transparent, uniform, and enforceable regulatory frameworks in the region.

The current electricity access rate in the COMESA region stands at 60 percent, meaning that almost half of the population lacks access to electricity.

AfDB Country Manager, Raubil Durowoju, said the bank was committed to complementing its effort with soft infrastructure initiatives on harmonisation of policy and regulatory frameworks.

Durowoju said this was being done while the AfDB continued to finance key regional power interconnectors across the continent to boost regional electricity trade.

The AfDB has provided a US$1.5 million grant for the project through the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the Bank.

He said this at the launch of the initiative on Tuesday in Lusaka.

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).

“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 harmonised electricity market in Africa as envisaged under the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) initiative,” he said.

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

At the same function, COMESA Secretary General, Chileshe Kapwepwe, pointed out under-developed regulatory frameworks and the absence of a framework for monitoring progress as complicating implementation modalities and inhibits investment decisions on electricity infrastructure projects.

Kapwepwe emphasised that these challenges needed 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.

“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 said.

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

COMESA will be the executing agency for the Project, and the RAERESA of COMESA will be the implementing agency of the project, assisted by the Energy Regulators Association of East Africa (EREA).

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