35 representatives from Mozambique’s energy sector came together for an expert training on Distributed Generation (DG) in Maputo last week. The four-day workshop was jointly delivered by GET.transform and GET.invest and attended by delegates from the Mozambican Ministry for Mineral Resources and Energy, the regulator ARENE, the national utility EDM, the rural electrification fund FUNAE as well as the renewable energy associations AMER and ALER.
GET.invest and GET.transform are supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria. The programmes combine their investment and regulatory expertise to support partner countries in strengthening public and private sector cooperation in the energy transformation.
The workshop aimed at enhancing the knowledge and capacity of public sector stakeholders regarding distributed generation and its potential in light of Mozambique’s New Energy Law. Due to the proximity to the point of consumption, distributed generation can help reduce both end user and utility costs, as well as boost the decarbonisation of electricity generation. However, implementing DG requires carefully designed policies and regulations.
Best practices and examples from other jurisdictions allowed to show how regulations may help to seize the opportunities that scaling distributed generation can bring to Mozambique.
Next to discussing the related opportunities, barriers and challenges, the participants were particularly interested in the role of the regulator, business models for commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers and the revenue impact on the utility.
The training helped the stakeholders to establish a common understanding and develop a joint outlook on the potential of this growing segment. As a next step, a whitepaper will be created in close alignment with all stakeholders to identify specific recommendations for regulating and unlocking investments in distributed generation in Mozambique.
