Supporting the Policy Enabling Environment for Development
USAID SPEED

Technical Assistance to ARENE

SPEED+ is working with ARENE in the following areas:

Strengthen organizational capacity

SPEED+ provided preliminary assistance in organizational capacity building, such as organizational structuring and position descriptions. ARENE must: (a) be autonomous, (b) have clear authority and capacity to fulfill its mandate, and (c) be accountable for its decisions and actions. ARENE should also establish and maintain clear relationships and lines of responsibility between the main institutions in the energy sector, including MIREME, other relevant Ministries and EDM. SPEED+ will continue to provide support to ARENE (Energy Regulatory Authority) to act as an independent regulator, such as the development of guidelines and principles for ARENE decision-making processes, providing justification for ensuring adequate funding from the State budget to ensure that the regulator can supplement staff capacities with trained specialists, work development and setting procedures for dealing with appeals (service providers or consumers.

Strengthen technical capacity

A strong and skilled ARENE with broad authority over the electricity industry will help build the confidence of investors and electricity service providers or independent energy producers to enter and do business in Mozambique. A neutral entity that will make decisions based on the public interest and internationally accepted and transparent technical requirements will ensure fair and just and reasonable business opportunities. If there is a perception that market structure does not provide these necessary ingredients, then the cost to enter and the barriers that may have to be overcome can be seen as too large and investors will go elsewhere. SPEED+ will work with ARENE to develop the capacity to define regulatory aspects of the energy sector, such as prices, land rights, off-take agreements and performance standards - which can reduce investor risk and contribute to other public policy objectives such as protection environmental and universal access.

 

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