Electricity Regulators, Operators Meet On ECOWAS Documents For Regional Market

Officials of the electricity regulators from the national authorities and operators from the ECOWAS member states will hold a three-day meeting beginning today, in Accra, Ghana to review some documents which are critical to the development of the regional electricity market.

These experts are members of the Consultative Committees of Regulators and Operators, organs created to assist the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) in its mandate of establishing and developing the Regional Electricity Market.

The experts will consider the Detailed Rules and Procedures for Market Surveillance, a document being developed by ERERA to provide transparent procedures and processes to monitor the regional electricity market, in accordance with its powers to prevent abuse and distortions as well as sanction defaulters.

The Market Surveillance Rules will also specify the roles to be played by the various stakeholders in the region, including national regulatory authorities, Transmission Service Operators and System and Market Operators, to facilitate effective monitoring of the market.

Among others, the draft Market Surveillance Rules comprises the draft Guidelines for Market Surveillance of ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market; analysis of Existing Bi-lateral Contracts for Conformity with Model Bi-lateral Agreement and ECOWAS Market Documents; as well as the Report on Definition and Revision of the Detailed Rules and Procedures for Market Surveillance.

The meeting will also review the Gap Analysis Report of a recent study which relates to the Functional Model on System Reliability and Electricity Market for the ECOWAS Electricity Market.

Furthermore, the regional experts will review the draft rules for the Harmonization of Licensing Criteria for the Regional Electricity Market. The harmonized framework for granting of licenses and authorizations for participation in the power market includes guidelines for grant of export and import licenses for cross-border power trading in ECOWAS countries as well as model export and import licenses for adoption by the member states.

According to ERERA’s documents, a harmonized licensing framework will provide the regulatory tools that will help regulators keep an oversight of the market. It will also help ensure that licensing does not restrict entry by players into the regional electricity market.

The participants at the meeting will be updated on the ECOWAS Directive on the Organization of the Regional Electricity Market, with emphasis on the drafting of national roadmaps.

With the imminent launch of the second phase of the regional electricity market, ERERA is expected to put in place the enabling regulatory framework which will help in fast-tracking the development of the regional electricity market.