UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Intergovernmental Organization

Name of Organization:	The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)

Name of Focal Point:	Binu Parthan

Initiative Title:	Capacity Building in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Regulation and Policy-Making in Africa

Internet links:

Scope:	Regional: - Africa

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: 2006 End: 2007

Lead Institution:	United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Stakeholders/Partners:	REEEP

Relevent issues:	- Renewable energy including hydro power

Objectives/Challenges:

Objective:
Enhance capacity of regulators and policy makers of Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy and adapt the REEEP ‘Regulation and Sustainable Energy’ training package to the context of developing countries.
Challenges:
Lack of capacity and knowledge between developing countries policy-makers and regulators on how to foster a policy and regulatory environment supportive of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Lessons Learned:

Existing energy regulatory frameworks were heavily skewed towards electricity regulation and for developed electricity markets. These need to be adapted to the needs of developing countries;

Policy Options:

A comprehensive energy regulation resource which can be used for training energy regulators in developing countries will be developed and launched on the sideline of CSD-15 by REEEP and UNIDO.

Summary:

In recent years, most African governments have seen the setting up of energy sector regulatory institutions as part of broader reforming process aimed at improving the performance of their national economies and to address major developmental challenges, including the need for private sector investments in the area of infrastructure development. Experience from other developed and developing countries shows that energy sector regulatory institutions can play a critical role in paving the way for a sustainable energy development both at the national and the regional level.
However, policy-makers and regulators in many developing countries, including Africa, experience a lack of capacity and knowledge on how to foster a policy and regulatory environment that will better aid the adoption of more economically and environmentally sustainable methods of energy supply and utilisation, both in the industrial sector and the rural energy context. UNIDO and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) have developed this project to enhance the regulating and policy making capacity of the governments of Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy and to produce an effective tool for capacity building of regulators and policy-makers in developing countries.