USAID BIANNUAL PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORT: ENERGY REGULATORY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

The program focuses on core ratemaking principles, tariff setting, and regulatory frameworks for mini-grids and eligible customers. In Rwanda, NARUC's engagement with the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) enhanced RURA's technical knowledge on core ratemaking principles. NARUC experts provided tools to analyze Rwanda's 2017 rate change, which supported national goals to encourage private investment and enhance the state-owned utility's financial viability through the development of cost-based rates. RURA gained a better understanding of the impact of existing subsidy structures and how to allocate costs amongst customer classes in the most equitable and fair fashion. In Tanzania, NARUC assisted the Energy and Water Regulatory Authority (EWURA) in developing a comprehensive Action Plan for developing time of use (TOU) tariffs and implementing a TOU tariff pilot project. The goal of the TOU tariffs is to incentivize large industrial and commercial customers to shift their electricity usage to a different time of day, thus evening out peak demand and reducing strain on the system during peak periods. The plan includes action items to be completed by all three agencies and includes oversight by a steering committee comprised of one member from each agency to drive forward the Action Plan over the next two years. In Nigeria, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) issued its Eligible Customers Regulations in November 2017. These regulations set rules for how certain customers can purchase power directly from generation companies after being declared eligible by NERC. NARUC provided consultant support to NERC to assist with development of the regulations. The new arrangements are expected to open up the flow of money and electric power in the sector, which has recently been bogged down by monopoly service and inflexible contractual arrangements. In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Energy Authority (EEA) improved its capacity to approve licenses for geothermal projects through NARUC support during an exchange in February 2018. The activity brought together a number of stakeholders, including the EEA, Ethiopian Electric Power, the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, the Geological Survey of Ethiopia, and the Oromia Region Energy Bureau. In collaboration with NARUC experts, stakeholders drafted a Geothermal Licensing Checklist that will guide the EEA and other stakeholders in carrying out Ethiopia's licensing and permitting framework for geothermal projects. The Senegal Energy Regulatory Partnership was launched by NARUC with the Commission de Regulation du Secteur de L'électricite (CRSE) in March 2018. Senegal is transitioning to a competitive market in 2019 and plans to implement a uniform tariff to address stakeholder concerns about the vast price difference between on-grid and off-grid tariffs. Through a partnership exchange focused on introductory ratemaking, NARUC experts, CRSE, Senelec, and the Senegal Rural Electrification Agency engaged in extensive discussions and exercises that improved CRSE's understanding of its role and authority within the sector and how regulators can better analyze utility revenues to improve implementation of the uniform tariff and enhance existing stakeholder engagement practices.