Category : News

ERERA officials, led by Acting Chairperson, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ikeonu and her colleague Regulatory Council Member, Mr. Alagi Gaye, on 8^th September 2015 paid a courtesy call with visiting Turkish delegation from the Electricity Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) on the Acting Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission of Ghana, Mr. Michael Opam, with whom they exchanged experiences on electricity regulatory practices in West Africa and Turkey.

Mrs. Ikeonu explained that the visit of the Turkish delegation was part of efforts to finalize a report on the G20 energy access programme for sub-Saharan countries, including the regulatory aspects of energy access.

The working visit was also to strengthen relations between EMRA and ERERA. Both institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 27th October 2014. Part of the engagement include strengthening of the institutional framework within the electricity sector of ECOWAS Member States.

The management and staff of ERERA on Sunday, 12th July bade farewell to pioneer Chairman, El Hadj Ibrahima Thiam, whose tenure came to an end after six years at the helm of affairs of the institution.

A formal staff briefing of his departure preceding the Sunday evening gathering. On both occasion, staff members eulogized El Hadj Thiam for courageously nurturing the new institution in spite of the many and varied teething problems.

ERERA’s Acting Chairperson, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ikeonu who also spoke on some of the achievements of the outgoing chairman, noted that ‘it is not easy birthing an institution, especially in an environments such as ours’.

She stated that members of the ERERA Regulatory Council would continue to work hard towards the realization of ERERA’s objectives and the implementation of on-going activities towards the commencement of the regional electricity market. She then called for the continued cooperation of all staff to support the Council.

Similarly, ERERA’s Council Member, Mr. Alagi Gaye, urged staff to continue to embrace team spirit ‘to do what we have been mandated to do’, and to uphold the outgoing chairman in their prayers.

Responding, El Hadj Thiam recalled that his mission to ERERA was ‘to lay the foundations’ on which others would build. He spoke on some of the challenges associated with building a new institution as well as developing a regional electricity market, a core mandate for ERERA. Some of these included recruitment of professional staff, funding and asserting ERERA’s autonomy to ensure its credibility.

El Hadj Thiam expressed gratitude to all the national regulators and operators, especially the electricity regulatory authorities of The Gambia, Nigeria and Senegal as well as the French Development Agency, AFD, for providing early support to ERERA.

A member of the Regulatory Council of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ikeonu, has been appointed as the Acting Chairperson of the institution.

Her appointment, which became effective 1st July 2015, follows the end of tenure of El Hadj Ibrahima Thiam, ERERA’s pioneer chairman.

At a brief meeting with staff on Tuesday, 7th July 2015 at the institution’s headquarters in Accra, Ghana, Mrs. Ikeonu commended the outgoing Chairman and enjoined staff to put in their best always and help the institution fulfil its mandate. She stressed that it was important to work with integrity and professionalism in order to leave a worthwhile legacy.

ERERA’s 4^th FORUM – November 20 – 21, 2013: The Kairaba Hotel, Banjul, The Gambia
ERERA’s 4th Forum on regional electricity regulation will take place on November 20 and 21, 2013 in Banjul, capital city of The Gambia. The Forum, like the others before it, is to promote cooperation and exchange of information amongst the regulatory bodies of ECOWAS Member States. It also serves as a permanent platform for discussion aimed at regulators and all stakeholders in the electricity sector in West Africa.

Theme

The theme for this year’s Forum is ‘Fast-tracking the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market: the Regulatory Issues’. It reflects the upper most concern of ERERA, that currently, regulation is central to the development process of the regional electricity market, which is being established to address the challenges of the limited size of most of the national markets within the region.

Market Objectives

The establishment of the regional market will assist in tackling the issue of unequal distribution of energy resources among countries as well as the critical issue of bridging the gap between supply and demand of electricity. Regional regulation will oversee contractual arrangements that govern cross-border transactions between parties operating in the regional electricity market including the establishment of a transparent tariff methodology. The effectiveness of regional regulation enhances the confidence to address governance in the sector and facilitate the involvement of private sector participation as well as public-private partnership, without which necessary investments in the electric power sector development will be difficult to achieve. In this regard, the objective is to promote transparency of cross-border exchanges in electricity, through the introduction of market rules, incorporating key principles such as cooperation, gradualism, transparency, non-discrimination, competitiveness and sustainability.

The establishment of ECOWAS regional electricity market is planned in three phases, each of them corresponding to a vision of development in the short-, medium- and long-term. There are obviously issues around it all. The 4th Forum will address all these issues and the role of regional regulation in the development of the electricity market through the active participation of key stakeholders during the Forum.

Targeted Participants 

The Forum will bring together stakeholders from the energy sector of ECOWAS Member States, including the Ministries in charge of Energy and Finance, national regulatory authorities, utility companies, parliamentarians, academics , researchers, consumer groups and other civil society organizations, banks and financial institutions, regional and international institutions as well as development partners.

Participants are also expected from other regional economic communities (RECs), regulators’ associations and the general public.
REGISTRATION FORMS are available here

You can also view the LIST OF SELECTED HOTELS in Banjul here

For further information, please contact:

–          Mme. Seynabou Ngom

Email: sngom@https://www.erera.arrec.org / seynabougaye@hotmail.com

Tel.: +233 260 933 909

Or

–          Ms. Regina Quaye

Email: rquaye@https://www.erera.arrec.org

Tel.: +233 544 343 052 / +233 302 817 047

Or

–          info@https://www.erera.arrec.org