Assessing regulatory performance: The case of the Namibian electricity supply industry

The power sector reforms that commenced in the 1990s led to the establishment of independent electricity regulators in more than twenty countries across Africa. The main purpose for these institutions was to create greater transparency in tariff setting and provide increased certainty for investors. At the same time regulators are charged with the protection of the interests of current and future consumers of electricity. During the initial stages of reform it was the expectation that the state owned incumbents that were traditionally vertically integrated would be unbundled and privatised. In practice there have been very few privatisations and what have emerged are hybrid markets where state-owned utilities remain dominant with independent power producers on the margin. In these markets regulation is a complex melting pot of incentivising the performance of state-owned utilities, attraction of private sector investment especially to fill gaps in generation capacity and making sensitive pricing decisions. Recognising that regulation is beginning to establish a track record, the African Electricity Regulator Peer Review and Learning Network, an initiative of the University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business provides an opportunity for high level learning through the assessment of regulatory performance. We detail an assessment of regulation in Namibia where we find prices transitioning to cost reflectivity but question the sustainability of current arrangements in the distribution of electricity and the country’s long-term generation adequacy

Assessing regulatory performance: The case of the Namibian electricity supply industry

The power sector reforms that commenced in the 1990s led to the establishment of independent electricity regulators in more than twenty countries across Africa. The main purpose for these institutions was to create greater transparency in tariff setting and provide increased certainty for investors. At the same time regulators are charged with the protection of the interests of current and future consumers of electricity. During the initial stages of reform it was the expectation that the state owned incumbents that were traditionally vertically integrated would be unbundled and privatised. In practice there have been very few privatisations and what have emerged are hybrid markets where state-owned utilities remain dominant with independent power producers on the margin. In these markets regulation is a complex melting pot of incentivising the performance of state-owned utilities, attraction of private sector investment especially to fill gaps in generation capacity and making sensitive pricing decisions. Recognising that regulation is beginning to establish a track record, the African Electricity Regulator Peer Review and Learning Network, an initiative of the University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business provides an opportunity for high level learning through the assessment of regulatory performance. We detail an assessment of regulation in Namibia where we find prices transitioning to cost reflectivity but question the sustainability of current arrangements in the distribution of electricity and the country’s long-term generation adequacy

Electricity access in Mozambique : A critical policy analysis of investment, service reliability and social sustainability

Mozambique is a resource-rich energy hub, yet rural community access to electricity remains low, and urban centres suffer poor service quality. Aging transmission infrastructure, consumer growth, erratic generation, and extreme weather events exacerbate power cuts and oscillations that disrupt household activities and damage appliances. Through qualitative critical policy analysis of household (n=120) and public/private stakeholder (n=87) interviews in the four largest cities of Mozambique (Maputo, Matola, Beira and Nampula) we assess diverse perspectives on reliability, affordability, and investment/revenue-raising to meet SDG7 to provide clean, modern energy services for all. We find that although electricity tariffs commonly exceed household budgets, they remain politicised and are not cost-reflective – putting the national utility Electricidade de Moçambique E.P. (EDM) into growing debt and imminent insolvency, hindering its ability to ensure reliable, quality and affordable services. We recommend unbundling the electricity sector to enable EDM and the energy regulator (Autoridade Reguladora de Energia – ARENE) to be managed independently, and reducing state-induced inefficiencies that limit their ability to make transparent and fair decisions on tariffs, their institutional capacity and performance, and the development of the power sector

Power-sector reform and regulation in Africa: lessons from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia and Ghana

Power-sector reform and regulation in Africa offers detailed, up-to-date and original research into how governments and policymakers in six African countries have grappled with the development of their energy sectors. Arising out of a two-year peer-learning process involving senior executives in the electricity regulators in each country, the book contains an intelligent and clear analysis of the knowledge and shared experiences gathered in Africa by African scholars

Ghana: Energy Policy

This contribution provides a general overview of Ghana's context and energy policy