SIERRA LEONE MAKE HUGE STRIDES IN CONTINENTAL ELECTRICITY REGULATORY INDEX RANKING
The Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (SLEWRC) has been ranked 19th place out of 35 country regulatory bodies in the Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) for Africa, released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in August 2019. This is the first time Sierra Leone participated in the ERI.
The ERI is a special report that measures the level of development of the regulatory frameworks in African countries and examines their impact on the performance of their respective electricity sectors based on Industry best practice. The index is composed of three sub-indexes on Regulatory Governance, Substance, and Outcome.
Sierra Leone’s ranking is amongst the second group of countries that are considered to have an average-developed electricity regulatory framework amongst established regulators. It is important to note that Sierra Leone is ranked ahead of countries like Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Critical areas of importance as highlighted in the report includes regulatory substance and regulatory outcomes for consumers – particularly in the commercial sector. SLEWRC also scored big on the independence of regulators from the government and stakeholders.
The Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa is a product of the Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth Complex of the African Development Bank. Periodic evaluation of regulators as practiced in many developed countries is important as it enables early identification of problems or gaps so that corrective actions can be implemented as soon as possible.
According to the Director General of the Commission Dr. Emmanuel Mannah, the achievement is as a result of a dedicated crop of staff and a body of astute Commissioners. He on other hand has been providing strategic leadership to the Commission.
In compiling this comparative study, the AfDB hopes the assessment will promote further private sector participation to improve performance and national regulatory environments.
Management and Staff of the SLEWRC
ANNEX 3: ERI COMPARISON 2018 – 2019
