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REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION

12/11/2020 00:54:00 BY ASHMOND NZIMA

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MBABANE - ESERA has embarked on a journey to develop a regulatory framework for mini and off grids systems.

ESERA is the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority. The move is meant to ensure security of supply, universal access to electricity services and products, as well as promoting integrity and sustainability of the electricity supply industry.

According to Energypedia, a mini-grid can be defined as a set of electricity generators and possibly energy storage systems interconnected to a distribution network that supplies electricity to a localised group of customers. They involve small-scale electricity generation (10kW to 10MW), which serves a limited number of consumers via a distribution grid that can operate in isolation from national electricity transmission networks.

operate

Mini-grids have a unique feature as they can operate autonomously without being connected to a centralised grid. However, the mini-grid may be designed to interconnect with the central grid, which means it operates under normal conditions as part of the central grid with disconnection occurring only if power quality needs to be maintained

Through an invitation shared on the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency (ESPPRA), competent, qualified and registered individuals and/or companies were instructed to submit their bids for procurement of consultancy services to develop the regulatory framework for mini-grids and off-grids.

The objective is to procure consultancy services of suitably qualified and competent consultants with the relevant and required engineering, legal, financial and economic expertise in the energy sector to do the required job for the Eswatini Electricity Supply Industry (ESI).

“A tender fee of E350 should be paid to ESERA and the proof of payment must be submitted with the bid documents.

“A technical and a financial proposal shall be submitted either in hard copy or soft copy (through a flash drive) enclosed in plain, wrapped and sealed separate envelopes clearly marked with the bid number and description on the outside and deposited into the ESERA tender box situated at the ESERA offices reception.

“Enquiries relating to this tender should be directed in writing to Sihle Magagula via email at,: magagulas@esera.org.sz,” reads the invitation in part.

Meanwhile, ESERA is a statutory energy regulatory body established through the Energy Regulatory Act, (Act No. 2 of 2007). The mandate of ESERA is the administration of the Electricity Act, (Act No. 3 of 2007), with the primary and core responsibilities of exercising control over the electricity supply industry and regulation of generation, transmission, distribution, supply, import and export of electricity in Eswatini.

initiative

Eswatini mini-grids and off-grids sector is still in an ascent state with only one existing pilot initiative which has been undertaken by the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC).

According to ESERA, the development of the mini/off-grids sector requires appropriate regulatory instruments to ensure relevant initiatives undertaken are sustainable. Currently, there is no dedicated regulatory framework that addresses the technical and commercial aspects of mini-grid and off-grid systems. As a result, ESERA requires the assistance of consultancy services for the development of a regulatory framework for mini-grids and off-grids services and products in Eswatini. This is meant to assist the Authority in establishing a regulatory environment that promotes universal access and security of electricity supply.

“This has been further necessitated by the existing grid access issues that can be addressed by the deployment of off-grid systems. With the rural electrification rate at 69 per cent, it is prudent that the Authority puts in place regulatory instruments that will enable the implementation of rural electrification programmes in order to achieve the country’s goals on universal access.

In this regard, a proper regulatory framework has to be in place in order to manage, in a fair and transparent manner, components such as: licensing of mini-grids and off-grids; pricing models and tariff structure.

According to the tender document, the scope of work will include studying the relevant legislation and regulatory regimes for the Eswatini Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) in order to understand the electricity sector market and current regulatory environment to provide recommendations on areas of improvement in matters relating to mini-grids and off-grids.

The selected consultant will further study and review relevant and best practices in mini-grids and off-grids sectors in the electricity supply industries from other developing countries regionally and internationally for benchmarking purposes.