Supporting the Policy Enabling Environment for Development
USAID SPEED

GET.invest contributes to mini-grid training in Mozambique

GET invest, together with the Power Africa funded USAID-SPEED+ project, contributed to a two-day training seminar on mini-grids and on-grid renewable energy in Maputo (18-20 February 2019). The seminar was organised and led by Economic Consulting Associates (ECA) as part of a multi-faceted renewable energy consultancy financed by the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (which is administered by the African Development Bank).

ECA’s team leader for the SEFA study said “The contribution of GET.invest to the training seminar was invaluable, not just in presenting the Portuguese version of the mini-grid toolkit, but in stimulating useful debate on a number of key electrification issues amongst the participants”.The training was attended by 44 delegates from the provincial delegations of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), Fundo de Energia (FUNAE), as well as Maputo-based representatives of MIREME, FUNAE, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and energy regulator ARENE.The training aims to increase the understanding among the participants of how private sector developed mini-grids can provide sustainable solutions to increase access to affordable energy under the framework of the current and the draft Electricity Law that will be under consideration by the Government of Mozambique in 2019. Subjects include management of mini-grids, PPP models for financing mini-grids, project risks and solutions as well as price and tariff setting and carrying out environmental impact assessments. The training was designed based on the outlines of the Mini-Grid Policy Toolkit [hyperlink], which describes best practices of mini-grid implementation, business models, regulation and management and was developed by the GET.invest predecessor programme EUEI PDF RECP. During the training, participants engaged in discussions with the trainers about the limits of government funding for rural electrification and the importance to leverage finance, management and implementation capacity from the private sector. Also subjects of debate were how to manage dynamic demand over time from rural households and enterprises that are connected to the network.GET.invest deputy team leader Jan Cloin commented “The training provides another concrete step in our continued support to the Government of Mozambique in transitioning towards a more liberalized, but still with a public service focus, electricity sector by engaging in partnerships with private companies to achieve access to electricity for all Mozambicans”.