Sierra Leone has been ranked 8th position in the Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) 2022 for Africa. The ERI for Africa is a product of the Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth (PEVP) Complex of the African Development Bank. It was prepared under the overall leadership of the Director, Energy Financial Solution, Policy and Regulation Department, Wale Shonibare and his team.
The average RGI score however declined from 0.736 in 2021 to 0.731 in 2022, whilst RSI improved marginally from 0.575 to 0.582 over the same period. Mixed movements have been recorded in RGI scores as a result of both positive and negative actions taken by the regulator or national governments.
Additionally, the regulator has established a Dispute Settlement Committee to deal with disputes between the regulator and utilities, between utilities, and between utilities and consumers. For its part, Sierra Leone amended the National Electricity Act to make provision for concessions and to allow eligible customers to directly negotiate and purchase electricity from producers.
Director-General of the Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), Dr. Emmanuel Mannah said the ERI is a composite index that measures the level of development of electricity sector regulatory frameworks in African countries against international standards and best practice and that it is composed of the following three pillars.
This report is the fifth edition of the Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI). It measures the level of development of electricity sector regulatory frameworks in African countries and the capacity of regulatory authorities to effectively carry out their relevant functions and duties.
The report covers 43 of the 45 countries with confirmed regulatory authorities. The ERI is made up of three pillars or sub-indices: The Regulatory Governance Index (RGI); the Regulatory Substance Index (RSI); and the Regulatory Outcome Index (ROI).
The fundamentals of supportive regulatory frameworks, which have been established in the surveyed countries, remain strong and are improving.
Thirty countries have either amended their regulatory laws and instruments or have enacted new ones; as a result, they have addressed weaknesses that were identified through the ERI. Although higher than last year, the average ERI score remains low, at 0.496 compared to 0.456 in 2021.
