Uganda, Liberia and Niger round out the head 5 performers
Nairobi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kenya and Senegal maintain claimed the head spots within the African Pattern Financial institution’s 2024 Electrical energy Regulatory Index (ERI) demonstrating unparalleled development in energy sector governance and regulatory outcomes.
The full review, officially unveiled these days on the Africa Energy Discussion board in Cape Metropolis, evaluates regulatory frameworks at some level of 43 African worldwide locations.
The African Pattern Financial institution Neighborhood is leveraging its presence on the Twenty seventh African Energy Discussion board (AEF 2025) to highlight its strategic energy receive admission to initiatives, namely Mission 300 – a courageous campaign launched with the World Financial institution to glue 300 million Africans to electrical energy by 2030.
Uganda, Liberia and Niger round out the head 5 performers, with Niger registering doubtless the most perfect beneficial properties, underlining the solid affect of sustained reforms and political dedication to energy sector construction.
Uganda, which previously ranked first, stays a high performer with a rating of 0.855 in 2024. Ghana (0.768 in 2024, up from 0.709 in 2022) also stays within the head cohort.
Uganda’s decline from the head region within the index which it had held continuously from 2018 to 2022 is due both to improvements in diversified worldwide locations and internal factors.
In accordance with ERI 2022 files, the popular rating for “Formal independence from authorities” used to be extremely low (around 0.26 in 2021), even supposing it has improved a miniature bit with unusual legislation in about a global locations. For instance, Kenya’s Energy Act 2019 enhanced the autonomy of its Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), and Uganda and Tanzania maintain maintained pretty solid independence.
The fable talked about reforms in worldwide locations similar to Senegal and Kenya maintain allowed them to overhaul. “All these variations must, nonetheless, be taken within the context of ongoing alternate and diversified political factors”
Since 2018, Kenya has by no manner been out of the head 5 worldwide locations within the index but in 2022, the worn administration imposed a moratorium on unusual energy aquire agreements (PPAs), which parliament used to be expected to raise in 2025.
The ERI evaluates three dimensions—Regulatory Governance, Regulatory Substance, and Regulatory Outcomes (ROI). Significantly, the ROI, which tracks provider shipping and utility performance, recorded basically the most huge enhance at some level of the continent.
Key findings from the 2024 ERI
Kenya and Senegal led with a rating of 0.892, reflecting standout development in tariff reform, regulatory outcomes, and utility performance.
The experiences says a outstanding 41 out of 43 taking share worldwide locations finished RGI ratings above 0.5, representing a critical elevate from 24 worldwide locations in 2022.
It implies that worldwide locations scoring below 0.500 reduced enormously from 19 in 2022 to lawful 6 in 2024. It extra notes that even the lowest-performing nation tripled its rating—from about 0.10 to 0.33.
The Regulatory Outcomes (ROI) surged from roughly 0.40 in 2022 to 0.62 in 2024, exhibiting that reforms are delivering tangible provider improvements on the bottom.
Now in its seventh version, the 2024 Electrical energy Regulatory Index (ERI) reveals solid momentum in direction of extra effective, clear, and impactful regulation, with true-world outcomes initiating to emerge.
AfDB Vice President for Vitality, Energy, Local weather and Green State, Dr. Kevin Kariuki talked about the 2024 Electrical energy Regulatory Index reveals that Africa’s regulators are stepping up.
“We are no doubt seeing stronger establishments delivering true outcomes for utilities and patrons. This shift is critical if we are to fabricate Mission 300 and attach 300 million folks to electrical energy by 2030,” For the first time, the 2024 ERI also assessed regional regulatory our bodies, recognizing their rising role in harmonizing technical requirements and enabling atrocious-border electrical energy trade” he talked about.
Because the backbone of Mission 300, Electrical energy Regulatory Index continues to expose the produce and implementation of national energy compacts—within the intervening time though-provoking in 12 worldwide locations, with one other 20 in construction.
Bridging the Gap – Addressing Ongoing Challenges
Whereas celebrating regulatory development, the fable calls for higher focal level on regulatory independence, the financial viability of utilities, and the combination of off-grid and mini-grid systems into national frameworks. The ERI underscores that regulation must translate into better receive admission to, affordability, and reliability, especially for underserved rural populations.
The fable outlines priority areas for bettering regulatory effectiveness. These integrated the necessity to improve regulatory independence, bettering accountability mechanisms, promoting transparence, predictability, bettering stakeholder participation and deepening economic regulation and advancing designate-reflective tariff methodologies.
Director for Energy Financial Suggestions, Protection and Legislation on the Financial institution Neighborhood, Wale Shonibare talked about the 2024 fable tells a hopeful fable.
“African worldwide locations are no longer lawful passing laws—they’re implementing them. Regulators are reworking from administrative our bodies into strategic establishments with measurable affect. On the choice hand, challenges associated to independence, financing, and enforcement persist,” talked about Wale
“Electrical energy provider present companies must make certain that regulatory establishments receive electrical energy tariff review schedules and make certain that the latter be conscious them to proceed to maintain a super tariff. They must behavior technical audits of Electrical energy Regulatory Index for Africa 2024-2026 their companies and products to resolve the magnificent cost of their sources and their situation sooner than submitting applications for electrical energy tariff revisions” talked about the fable.
Launched in 2018, the ERI is a diagnostic and policy instrument used by governments, regulators, and construction companions to identify gaps, track development, and prioritize reform efforts. The 2024 version accommodates broad solutions from utilities, regulators, and regional energy our bodies.
The Financial institution has dedicated to delivering 50 million of Mission 300’s ambitious plot of 300 million unusual connections, working intently with worldwide locations and companions to align investment and policy reforms.
The initiative received traction in January 2025 on the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, when twelve worldwide locations—as a first batch—unveiled their Nationwide Energy Compacts, outlining concrete policy actions and investment plans to quick-track electrification.
This used to be backed by the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Energy, which calls for coordinated action on financing, reforms, and implementation.
The Financial institution’s participation at AEF 2025 comes because it deepens its investment in energy generation, transmission and off-grid solutions at some level of Africa.
Between 2016 and 2025, it invested $12.74 billion to glue over 28 million folks to electrical energy and financed nearly 40,000 km of distribution traces. In 2024 by myself, it enabled the generation of 1,019 MW of electrical energy, construction of 2,326 km of transmission infrastructure, and offered electrical energy receive admission to to 448,000 folks.
These efforts align with the Financial institution’s “Gentle Up and Vitality Africa” priority and the Glossy Deal for Energy in Africa, which together unbiased to fabricate popular electrical energy receive admission to on the continent by 2030, addressing the pressing wants of the 600 million Africans quiet living without energy.
The Financial institution leads critical regional initiatives similar to Desolate tract to Vitality, which spans 11 Sahelian worldwide locations and targets to generate 10 GW of photo voltaic energy to lend a hand up to 250 million folks. It also helps the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), both centered on mobilizing capital for early-stage successfully-organized energy tasks and smaller-scale interior most sector developers.
The Financial institution has financed quite a lot of of Africa’s perfect renewable energy plants. In Egypt, it supported the Benban Portray voltaic Park (1.5 GW), contributing to 20% of the nation’s renewable energy plot.
In Morocco, the Financial institution led financing for the Noor Ouarzazate Portray voltaic Complex, which affords electrical energy to over 2 million folks and offsets 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions yearly. Each tasks are thought about continental benchmarks
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