Published by: Department of Communication, ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority
Publié par: Le Département de la Communication, Autorité de Régulation Régionale du Secteur de
l’Électricité de la CEDEAO
Energy Commission Building, Ghana Airways Avenue, Airport Residential Area,
PMB 76 Ministries Post Office, Accra, Ghana
Tel: (233) 0302 817 049 Fax: (233) 0302 817 050 E-mail: info@erera.arrec.org
No.001 – 20th December 2020 – Accra, Ghana
ERERA Partners Communication Specialists towards Launch of Second Phase of Regional Electricity Market
A four-day workshop to help strengthen the capacity of communication specialists of National Electricity Regulatory Authorities (NRA) in ECOWAS Member States ended on 17th December 2020 in Aburi, near Accra, Ghana with a renewed commitment to achieving the objectives of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market, which was launched in June 2018 in Cotonou, Benin.
ERERA has identified key stakeholders that will benefit from its capacity building programmes. Communicators from National Electricity Regulatory Authorities in ECOWAS Member States are a key stakeholder group identified by ERERA that it needs to partner with so as to facilitate the development of the regional electricity market.
In a workshop document, ERERA explained that such an intervention would assist the communicators to function effectively and efficiently as members of the regulatory community.
The document further stated that it will also ensure that the workshop participants are well acquainted with the emerging regional electricity market structure and the regulatory environment required to make it function effectively. This is especially important with the launch of the second phase of the regional market, which is in view.
Addressing the participants at the opening of the workshop, ERERA Chairman, Professor Honoré Bogler, stated that the workshop was meant to sensitize participants and raise their awareness towards the launch of the second phase of the regional power market. Initially planned for 2021, he said the launch has now been postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PRESS
RELEASE
COMMUNIQUE
DE PRESSE
Published by: Department of Communication, ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority
Publié par: Le Département de la Communication, Autorité de Régulation Régionale du Secteur de
l’Électricité de la CEDEAO
Energy Commission Building, Ghana Airways Avenue, Airport Residential Area,
PMB 76 Ministries Post Office, Accra, Ghana
Tel: (233) 0302 817 049 Fax: (233) 0302 817 050 E-mail: info@erera.arrec.org
He explained that the ERERA Regulatory Council had decided on many preparatory awareness raising activities for all stakeholders ahead of the launch of the second phase of the market, of which the workshop was part.
Professor Bogler described the communication specialists as partners and expressed confidence that the workshop would greatly prepare them on their information dissemination function on the regional electricity market.
The workshop was attended by the ERERA Council Members, ERERA professional staff and Communication specialists from the National Electricity Regulatory Authorities of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Presentations at the workshop were on the rationale for the creation of the Regional Electricity Market, challenges of the transmission and distribution assets and infrastructure, the importance of transmission capacity and methods of allocation of transmission capacity to market participants and dispute resolution mechanism designed for proper functioning of the Regional Electricity Market.
The workshop also discussed the stages of market development through accounting separation and unbundling monopoly structure as well as the rationale for electricity tariff regulations and the dynamics of ECOWAS regional power pricing methodology and model.