ERB ATTENDS THE WATER, ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY AND IRRIGATION EXHIBITION - SUDAN EXPO 2018
By HUMPHREY NGWALE FROM 17t h to 20th March 2018 the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) participated at the Water, Energy, Technology and Irrigation Exhibition (WE TIX) Sudan Expo 20 18 which was held in Khartoum.
This regional exhibition offered a platform to connect energy users with leading experts, policy makers, suppliers and available technical solutions for the purpose of sharing knowledge regarding implementation, projects, tenders and contracts in water, energy, technology and irrigation. The main objective was to bring together African experts and international energy stakeholders in renewable energy, irrigation and water resource management.
The ERB participated at the event to build institutional capacity by drawing from best practices on energy regulation, including renewable energy from other African countries. The expo was also an opportunity to share and learn from international energy developers with regard to Zambia’s investment potential in the energy sector.
In that regard, the ERB delegation interacted with local and international companies and organisations, which included University of Sudan, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Energy (Department of Dams & Irrigation) and Switch Company Limited, Sudan Thermal Power Generation Company Limited and Sudan Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). The interaction was guided by key thematic issues as outlined below:
Renewable energy and energy efficient solutions offered by the various institutions interacted with;
Problems encountered with regard to support policy, consumer acceptance and technology reliability, for the renewable energy and energy efficient solutions
Initiatives and/or innovations offered, development or adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency products for consumers; Strategies to encourage the culture of energy efficiency and conservation among energy businesses and their customers; and
Challenges encountered and successes scored
During the interactions, the ERB also shared information on various energy issues and handed out ERB literature which is normally shared with members of the public during public events.
From these engagements the ERB learnt that, among other things, the renewable energy solar specifically solutions in Sudan were deployed only in offgrid areas. This is different from the Zambian set up where solar is promoted for rural and urban, including areas serviced with grid electricity. In fact, the main focus of solar solutions in Sudan is solar water pumping which is a strategy adopted and supported by the Government of Sudan to replace diesel generator water pumps with solar pumps in off grid farming areas.
By contrast, Zambia has adopted a broader approach to promoting the use of solar in all applications which include water pumping, heating, lighting and refrigeration, among others. Notably, the Sudan experience for rolling out solar was characterized by initial distrust by the farmers about the reliability of solar pumps. Farmers were initially not interested in the promoted clean aspect of the solar solutions or the perceived long term low-cost of the solar pumps. To overcome this, solar companies had to demonstrate that solar pumps were as reliable as diesel pumps. This approach coupled with awareness initiatives gradually convinced farmers to embrace and accept solar products. 7he other benefits associated with solar energy are expected to accrue to the farmers in due course. Similarly, Zambia can learn from such strategies to enhance the use of solar power as an alternative energy source for farmers and other consumers.
Similar to the Zambian scenario, solar energy adoption is also heavily supported by the Government of Sudan through the waiver of customs duties and taxes on imported solar products. However, solar energy products service providers in Sudan felt that electricity tariffs were not only µnot cost reÀectiYe¶, but also Yery low to motivate consumers in urban electrified areas to adopt solar solutions. This is similar to some sentiments by some stakeholders in Zambia. However, one local Sudanese company, called Switch Company Limited has a long term strategy to capture the solar energy market in Sudan. This is by setting up pilot projects for replacing diesel generators with solar pumps in Northern Sudan, as well as electrifying one million households in Sudan in the next 10 years.
Overall, it was evident that the ‘under one roof’ Expo enabled different players in the water and energy subsectors to synergize their efforts in these areas. Further, it enabled consumers to access information on renewable energy solutions and created a platform for easy exchange of ideas and information among renewable energy stakeholders.
There were further engagements by the ERB delegation with Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). The interaction revealed that Sudan has a horizontally integrated power market which is under the Holding Company overseen by the Sudan Government through the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Energy. The distribution company, the transmission company and the two generation companies (hydro and thermal) are operationally independent, although they all report to the Holding Company which in turn is overseen by the Ministry of Energy. This contrasts with the vertically integrated set up in Zambia for the generation, transmission and distribution all falling under ZESCO Limited. ,n terms of rural electrification rate, 6udan¶s rural electrification, mainly in the Northern and Western desert parts of the country, was approximately 2.5% through off-grid diesel generators. This is similar to the Zambian scenario where the rural electrification rate is around 3%. Further, Sudan’s current energy direction seemed not to have an aggressive energy mix transformation but focused on exploring the existing hydro and thermal generation potential. This contrasts with Zambia where there is concerted Government effort to scale-up solar through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFiT) strategy which was approved by Government in 2017.
From a regulatory standpoint, the ERB observed from senior officials at 6udan¶s (lectricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) that there were similarities in challenges and positives experienced between the two countries. ERA also indicated that one of its big problems was lack of data on cost reÀectiYe tariffs which, according to the Director for Licensing and Tariff, was compounded by the Àuctuating 6udanese 3ound¶s exchange rates. Furthermore, like the ERB, ERA receives the key performance indicators data from the distribution company, the transmission company and the two generation companies. Based on the data, once in a year, ERA makes an economic evaluation and then initiates the tariff adjustment process and recommends to the Ministry of Energy for approval.
Sudan’s approach is different from Zambia’s where the tariff adjustment process is ordinarily initiated by the licensed utility and the ERB processes the application. Finally, the ERB observed that ERA was proud to have successfully developed the grid code which it continues to enforce at national level. However, unlike ERB, ERA does not conduct electricity compliance audits to verify the utilities’ compliance to such codes.
CONCLUSION
From the foregoing, it is clear that the ERB drew key lessons from the WETIX Sudan 2018 Expo by participating at the event and interacting with the ministry and the regulator in that country.
Firstly, the ERB delegation’s meeting with ERA and the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Energy provided indicative information on the electricity regulatory practices available in Sudan.
Secondly, the ERB team’s interaction with local and international exhibitors as well as information sharing with potential international energy investors helped to market Zambia.
Finally, since it was evident that the ‘under one roof’ Expo enabled consumers to have readily available information among others on renewable energy solutions and created a platform for easy exchange of ideas and information among energy stakeholders, it can be concluded that the Expo concept could be an effective way to enable different players in the electricity and renewable energy subsector to synergize their experience and expertise for sustainable energy solutions.
The WETIX Sudan 2018 Expo, which is the second edition, was organized by a local Sudanese company called TEST-Plus Company Limited. The Expo took place from 17th to 20th March 2018 at the Khartoum International Fairs Ground. A number of local and international companies and organizations involved in water, energy, irrigation were in attendance.
The ERB was represented by Electricity Engineers Messrs Mr. Boyd Chilembo and Mr. Humphrey Ngwale.
The Authour is Engineer Electricity based at the Southern Region 2ffice in LiYYingstone. For comments and clarifications kindly email erb@erb.org.zm or call the ERB Toll Free Line 8484.