Members of ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority, ERERA, Committees of Regulators and Operators, comprising Energy ministries, national regulatory authorities and utility operators in ECOWAS Member States, have been called upon to help finalize draft Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures for the regional electricity market.
According to a press release by the regional electricity body, the call was made by the Chairman of ERERA, Professor Honoré Bogler during the joint committees’ first virtual meeting since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic.
Addressing participants at the meeting, Professor Bogler said the Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures are an important device in the functioning of the ECOWAS electricity market, “the success of which depends on the quality and the consensual character of the rules that we would have adopted”.
When adopted by the ERERA Regulatory Council, the Rules and Procedures for the Settlement of Disputes – together with other draft documents including the Harmonization of Criteria for Grant of Licenses – will increase the number of legislative instruments preparatory to the second phase of the power market. They will also help ensure an efficient operationalization of the regional power market.
In attendance at this first virtual joint meeting of the Consultative Committees of Regulators and Operators were representatives of the Ministries of Energy, electricity regulatory authorities and power operators from ECOWAS Member States. Others included representatives of regional organizations such as the West African Power Pool (WAPP), The OMVG, the OMVS, the Transco CLSG and representatives of development partners supporting ERERA such as the European Union (EU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the German International Cooperation (GIZ), and the Tony Blair Institute.
Among other things, the participants were briefed on is the recent activities of ERERA, within the framework of the development of the Regional Electricity Market.
The Consultative Committees of Regulators and Operators, which became operational in 2011, have been assisting ERERA’s Regulatory Council in its decision-making processes.
Ime N
