Five African electricity regulation authorities came together in Namibia last week for the second meeting of the Peer Review and Learning Network (PRLN). Namibia’s Electricity Control Board (ECB) hosted regulator CEOs from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda to exchange on best practices and lessons learnt in energy regulation.
The PRLN is a three-year capacity-building programme for electricity sector regulators in Africa being facilitated by the Power Futures Lab (PFL) at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business and supported by GET.transform. The first peer review was held in May 2022 and hosted by Uganda’s electricity regulation authority (ERA).
Forming part of the continental efforts facilitated under the African Union for Harmonisation of Regulatory Frameworks, the PRLN is designed to build regulatory capacity through experiential learning and sharing between regulatory agencies. It also serves to mainstream principles for the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM). Learning is achieved through conducting in-depth peer reviews of the regulatory systems in each of the selected countries. The initiative is not a benchmarking or ranking exercise but places emphasis on what works; what can be improved or what can be adapted.
The main objectives of the PRLN are to enhance leadership and management capability among African Electricity Regulators so this could lead to increased credibility, transparency, and robustness of regulatory decisions; and to enhance overall investment and development outcomes through improved performance of the continent’s electricity infrastructure industry. At the end of each review, the PRLN team shares recommendations for consideration with the hosting authority.
