- Regulators, operators, and government representatives recommend blended financing modules to attract funding to address challenges in West Africa’s electricity sector.
- Mr Tossou also urged ECOWAS member states to adopt common regulatory standards to align their national electricity policies with regional frameworks.
Regulators, operators, and government representatives at the ERERA forum recommended using blended financing modules to attract funding and address challenges in West Africa’s electricity sector.
They also recommended policy alignment and coordination, strengthening of regional institutions, increased investment in infrastructure, gradual market liberalisation, capacity building, enhanced public awareness and engagement regarding providing reliable and cheaper household electricity, and support for regional business growth.
The recommendations were made at the just-ended ninth Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) forum, which was held in Accra, Ghana.
Mr Kocou Laurent Rodrigue Tossou, Chairman of ERERA, said, “By implementing these recommendations, ECOWAS member states can enhance electricity trade security, promote economic growth, and improve access to reliable and affordable electricity across the region.”
He encouraged the development of financial instruments and incentives to attract investment in the electricity sector, including exploring opportunities for blended finance by leveraging both public and private sector funding.
Mr Tossou also urged ECOWAS member states to align their national electricity policies with regional frameworks by adopting common regulatory standards and practices to facilitate cross-border electricity trade.
He said it was important to enhance the capacity of the regional System Market Operator of the Regional Electricity Market and ERERA to oversee and coordinate electricity trade activities, enforce compliance, and resolve disputes.
The ERERA Chairman was confident that implementing a newly developed regulatory framework for the region would establish a more integrated market and enhance access to affordable electricity for all consumers.
Speaking with the media, Mr Emmanuel Mannah, Director General of the Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulation Commission, noted that regional tariffs were high ” because the numbers have not been too scientific.”
“What ERERA is doing is to make sure that they give national regulators the methodology that will work. By so doing, it will become more scientific and analytical, removing guesswork, and the numbers can come down,” he said.
He noted that the tariff calculations are based on the costs incurred by electricity producers, and once those costs were efficient through accurate data computation, there would be a reduction.
Dr Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), underscored the importance of introducing private capital into the sector since governments cannot solve its challenges themselves.
He noted that the regulators’ role was crucial in addressing the concerns of producers and consumers as well as externalities, including environmental factors, to assure investors of good returns.
He, however, said, “What regulators should not do is to micro-manage, but set the guidelines and rules, which the operators would operate within, and that’s what ERERA wants to do.”