Lusaka, 23rd January 2019: COMESA through the Regional Association of Energy Regulators of Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) has appointed a Zambian firm to develop a Synthesized Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Strategy for the EA-SA-IO Region.
The short-term consultancy contract worth $124 506 was awarded to Centre for Energy Environment and Engineering of Zambia (CEEEZ) after further negotiation on the proposed scope of work and work plan. CEEEZ representative Professor Francis Yamba Yamba and Dr. Seif Elnasr, signed on behalf of the respective organisation.
Speaking during the signing ceremony of the contract, Chief Executive Officer for Regional Association of Energy, Regulators for Eastern & Southern Africa (RAERESA), Dr. Mohamedain Seif Elnasr called on the consultant to expedite the job with precision and speed as the region is in hurry to develop facilities that will provide energy for the development of regional economies.
He congratulated the consultant for meeting all the requirements for the project, which from inception shall take four months.
The criteria used involved evaluating the understanding of the TOR, the proposed Approach and methodology, the Education & Qualifications of the proposed team, the specific experience in relation to the consultancy and finally the experience in regional cooperation programmes and the knowledge of the EA-SA-IO Region.
The committee met on 25th September 2018 to evaluate five (5) proposals submitted in response to an advert posted on COMESA website on July 2018.
One of the gaps identified in the energy sector is the absence of a synthesized renewable energy and energy efficiency strategy for the ESA-IO region. Therefore, once developed, the strategy is required to provide an integrated framework in the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency to support the achievement of the region’s clean energy goals.
The supply side energy efficiency is another challenge that requires immediate redress. An analysis based on a sample of some countries in the region should form a perspective of what needs to be recommended for improving supply side efficiency in the EA, SA IO region.
The overall objective of the project is to enhance a sustainable regional energy market in the EA-SA-IO region, which is conducive to investment and promoting sustainable development. The project is relevant for the African Union’s Agenda 2030 and 2063.
Most countries in the EA-SA-IO region have experienced energy challenges, although it is a region with high potential capacity of energy when compared to other sub-Saharan African regions. These challenges are manifested by inadequate level and coverage of physical energy infrastructure due to insufficient investment in the energy sector, inefficiency and unreliability of existing energy infrastructure services, increased demand for economic growth and population growth, high cost of operating existing energy infrastructure facilities, energy poverty in terms of lower access rate and reliance on traditional fuels (wood fuels), and the issue of low utilization of clean energy option as a result of the absence of a market for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and services in the region.