- Kenya and Senegal have claimed the top spots in the African Development Bank’s 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index.
- Uganda, which previously ranked first, remains a top performer with a score of 0.855 in 2024.
Kenya and Senegal have claimed the top spots in the African Development Bank’s 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI), demonstrating exceptional progress in power sector governance and regulatory outcomes.
The comprehensive assessment, officially unveiled at the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town, evaluates regulatory frameworks across 43 African countries.
The African Development Bank Group is leveraging its presence at the 27th African Energy Forum (AEF 2025) to spotlight its strategic energy access initiatives, particularly Mission 300 – a bold campaign launched with the World Bank to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
Uganda, Liberia, and Niger round out the top five performers. Niger registered one of the most significant gains, underlining the strong impact of sustained reforms and political commitment to power sector development.
Uganda, which previously ranked first, remains a top performer with a score of 0.855 in 2024. Ghana (0.768 in 2024, up from 0.709 in 2022) also remains in the top cohort.
Uganda’s decline from the top spot in the index, which it had held continuously from 2018 to 2022, is due both to improvements in other countries and internal factors.
According to ERI 2022 data, the average score for “Formal independence from government” was extremely low (around 0.26 in 2021), though it has improved slightly with new legislation in a few countries. For example, Kenya’s Energy Act 2019 enhanced the autonomy of its Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), and Uganda and Tanzania have maintained relatively strong independence.
The report said reforms in countries such as Senegal and Kenya have allowed them to overtake. “All these variations must, however, be taken in the context of ongoing change and other political factors”
Since 2018, Kenya has never been out of the top five countries in the index, but in 2022, the former administration imposed a moratorium on new power purchase agreements (PPAs), which parliament was expected to lift in 2025.
The ERI evaluates three dimensions—Regulatory Governance, Regulatory Substance, and Regulatory Outcomes (ROI). Notably, the ROI, which tracks service delivery and utility performance, recorded the most substantial improvement across the continent.
Key findings from the 2024 ERI
Kenya and Senegal led with a score of 0.892, reflecting standout progress in tariff reform, regulatory outcomes, and utility performance.
The reports say that 41 out of 43 participating countries achieved RGI scores above 0.5, representing a significant increase from 24 countries in 2022.
It indicates that countries scoring below 0.500 reduced significantly from 19 in 2022 to just 6 in 2024. It further notes that even the lowest-performing country tripled its score, from about 0.10 to 0.33.
The Regulatory Outcomes (ROI) surged from roughly 0.40 in 2022 to 0.62 in 2024, showing that reforms deliver tangible service improvements.
Now in its seventh edition, the 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) shows strong momentum toward more effective, transparent, and impactful regulation, with real-world results beginning to emerge.
AfDB Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Dr. Kevin Kariuki, said the 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index shows that Africa’s regulators are stepping up.
“We are now seeing stronger institutions delivering real results for utilities and consumers. This shift is critical if we are to achieve Mission 300 and connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030,” For the first time, the 2024 ERI also assessed regional regulatory bodies, recognising their growing role in harmonising technical standards and enabling cross-border electricity trade”, he said.
As the backbone of Mission 300, Electricity Regulatory Index continues to inform the design and implementation of national energy compacts—currently active in 12 countries, with another 20 in development.