By Awa Sowe
Dr. Haliru Dikko, a council member for ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) has disclosed that the next summit of the organisation will be hosted in Banjul in November, revealing that there are key issues such as electricity interconnection and cost effectiveness of energy that need to be discussed during the Banjul summit.
He was speaking at Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) conference centre, where he expressed satisfaction at the reception accorded by the Gambia government through PURA.
“Importing power from one country to another is a very complicated but there is a need to be considerate as there are both technical and financial requirements,” Dr. Haliru Dikko noted.
He went on: “We will discuss and share experiences because there are other countries in the sub- region that are having problems”. He explained that the issue of interconnection will be looked into to ensure that there is peace and tranquility during the transactions because electricity issues are complex and that when taking decisions it should be for the long term to ensure that the interests of all the parties are taken into account.
According to him, another key issue to be discussed by the regional electricity regulatory authority at its forthcoming meeting will be the cost of affordability of energy, in accordance with the global economic situation including the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russian war.
“We are affected either directly or indirectly; so we will review the implications and see how best to come up with solutions of cost and affordability. It is important to see whether the cost given to consumers is affordable or not but the rule is that the service provider must recover its cost,” Dr. Dikko posited.
Mr Solo Sima, Acting Director General, PURA expressed delight and appreciation to the visiting delegation. He made known that ERERA is the regulator of the regional cross-border trade of electricity in West Africa, of which The Gambia is a vibrant member.
He said the visit of the delegation is prompted by Gambia’s desire to host ERERA’s first post-pandemic continental annual conference slated for November. The forum, he said, is the first of its kind in the country that is hoped to bring together regional regulators, African energy institutions, and international partners.
According to him, this summit is coming at a time when The Gambia is discussing the issue of interconnection with neighboring Senegal and the region to ensure continuity of services.
He noted that it is in line with the desire of ECOWAS to realise electricity interconnections through joint implementation and sharing of energy resources of the region.
Mr Simma further revealed that the energy protocol is designed to put in place the appropriate legal and institutional environment for the development of the electricity sector of West Africa. He added that the visit by the regional electricity regulators has availed the opportunity for PURA and Gambian stakeholders to meet the new ERERA Chairman, garner updates on the state of the regional electricity market, as well as assess the preparation of the forthcoming 7th ERERA annual forum.
