The 26th Africa Energy Forum (aef) successfully concluded in Spain and brought together more than 2,000 stakeholders. GET.transform, represented by the Head of Global Partnerships, Ene Macharm, contributed to the event across two expert panel discussions and shared insights on the role of renewable energy auctions and institutional capacity building in advancing energy access in Africa.
The first session “Effective Tendering for Renewable Energy IPP Development” drew on findings from a recent report by GET.transform, the Power Futures Lab and the Sustainable Renewables Risk Mitigation Initiative (SRMI). The panel was chaired by Anton Eberhard, Professor Emeritus & Senior Scholar of the University of Cape Town , and saw expert contributions from Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria, Director General of Energy & Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) in Kenya, Wale Shonibare, Director of Energy Finance Solutions, Policy & Regulations, African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dan Croft, Regional Industry Manager, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Wangari Muchiri, Director of Africa Wind Power, Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
The second panel session, “The Africa Energy Technical Assistance Program (AESTAP): Mobilising Technical Assistance for Africa’s Energy Sector”, was hosted by the AfDB and chaired by Wale Shonibare. The informed discussion saw inputs from H.E. Honourable Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, the Vice President, Sierra Leone, Mohamedain Seif Elnasr, CEO of the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern & Southern Africa (RAERESA), Dr. Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of Ghana’s Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Gissima Nyamo-Hanga, Managing Director of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO), Stephen Dihwa, the Executive Director, Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), and Callixte Kambanda, Manager for Energy Policy, Regulation & Statistics Division at the AfDB.
With a focus on enhancing energy access in both sessions, Ene Macharm stressed the importance of integrating energy resource planning with renewable energy procurement processes at country level. This integration requires proactive and strong collaboration among key stakeholders such as regulators, utilities, and ministries to develop a joint vision for enhancing electricity access. Partnering with other donors will be key towards scaling efforts while strengthening the regulatory frameworks for the electricity sector will result in an improved ranking on the Electricity Regulatory Index . Furthermore, the expert speakers discussed the need to support utilities in establishing and implementing cost-reflective tariffs and improving their creditworthiness.
