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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter

THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$1,5 million grant for intra-regional electricity regulations harmonisation and promotion of cross border power trading within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa region.

This will be implemented by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) through its energy regulatory arm – the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA).

“The board of AfDB has approved a grant of US$1,5 million to advance intra-regional harmonisation of electricity regulations and drive cross-border power trading in the Comesa region,” said Comesa in a latest update.

The trading bloc quoted RAERESA chief executive officer Dr Mohamedain El-Seif as saying: “The two-year project seeks to provide tools for harmonising regulatory frameworks to facilitate the smooth and timely completion, utilisation and operation of regional energy infrastructure — a move that is expected to further enhance regional electricity trade, which is critical to Comesa.”

He said the grant will fund technical assistance to promote the development and adoption of regional electricity regulatory principles, enhance capacity to monitor utility performance across the region, conduct a cross-border analysis of electricity tariffs, and develop a centralised database management system in both blocs. —@KazungaOliver