Namibia has reached another milestone on its way to releasing the country’s first off-grid framework. This month, Namibia’s Electricity Control Board (ECB) informed on the new regulation through a capacity building training and a stakeholder validation workshop.
For the development of the off-grid electrification regulation and subsequent stakeholder consolidation, ECB is partnering with GET.transform. The new framework aims to provide an enabling, light-handed regulated environment for the development of off-grid projects providing affordable and sustainable electricity access. At the same time, the regulation aims to remove deployment barriers and targets promoting economic and social opportunities by means of increased access to energy.
The related training addressed energy sector stakeholders in Namibia, including the ECB, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MME), Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs), and the Namibia Energy Institute (NEI). To support the later implementation of the regulation, the training focused on innovative business models for mini-grids, micro-grids and stand-alone systems.
The input and feedback collected through the stakeholder validation will now be incorporated into the draft regulation. The finalised framework will be vital to expand access to electricity in off-grid areas and reach universal access by 2040 as per Namibia’s electrification policy.
