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MBABANE – A New US$1.5m AfDB-funded Project to improve electricity regulations in COMESA has been launched.

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 harmonised 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 crossborder 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 Raubil Durowoju.

Executing

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 US$1.5 million grant for the project through African Development Fund - the concessional window of the Bank.

Appreciating the AfDB for funding the project, 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 per cent, meaning that almost half of the population lacks access to electricity.