Governmental Framework

Ministry of Infrastructure

The ministry oversees policy development and supervision of the Republic of Rwanda’s five major infrastructure areas: transport, energy, water and sanitation, urban planning and housing, and meteorology. James Musoni is the current minister.

http://www.mininfra.gov.rw/

Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA)

Established by law in 2001, RURA has a mandate to control and regulate an efficient, sustainable and reliable energy sector in a transparent and fair manner for the benefit of all stakeholders. It is the regulator for the subsectors of electricity, Lake Kivu natural gas, petroleum, renewable energies, medical and industrial gases, pipelines and storage facilities. The regulator issues the licences required for power generation, transmission, distribution, supply and exports and imports, as well as for rural electrification. In addition, it is responsible for setting electricity tariffs and charges. Its mission also includes regulation of water utilities.

http://www.rura.rw/

Rwanda Development Board (RDB)

The Rwanda Development Board was established by bringing together all of the government agencies responsible for assisting investors, including the key agencies responsible for investment promotion, business registration, environmental clearances, and privatisation as well as specialist agencies that support human capacity development, SMEs and the priority sectors of ICT and tourism.

http://www.rdb.rw/

Rwanda Energy Group (REG)

The dissolution of national utility company Energy, Water & Sanitation Ltd. (EWSA) in 2014 paved the way for the creation of REG, comprising two corporate entities: the Energy Utility Corporation Ltd. (EUCL) and the Energy Development Corporation Ltd. (EDCL). REG is under parastatal management and wholly owned by the government.

The aim of creating two subsidiaries under REG was to increase the efficiency of utility operations and to allow the execution of development projects to be more time and cost-efficient. The holding structure is also intended to provide for effective development of energy and investment plans, and overall coordination.

http://www.reg.rw/

Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2013-2018 (EDPRS 2)

EDPRS 2 follows the successful implementation of EDPRS I (2008- 2012) which produced consistently high growth (8.2%), poverty reduction and reductions in inequality. EDPRS 2 outlines a medium-term plan to help Rwanda reach a higher level of development, focused on four thematic areas: accountable governance, economic transformation, rural development and youth employment. Parts of the strategy define goals for the electricity sector, to help achieve the general development goals over the 5 year period:

Source: Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy II 2013-2018 (EDPRS2)

Electricity Law 2011

This law governs electric power production, transmission, distribution and trading within or outside the national territory of the Republic of Rwanda. The law has the following objectives:

• Liberalisation and regulation of the electricity sector
• Development of electric power distribution for all categories
• Establishment of a framework to facilitate electric power investments
• Ensuring respect for the conditions of fair competition and for the rights of users and operators

The law defines activities in the electricity sector that require a licence from the regulator and the conditions for obtaining a licence. Furthermore, it states that electricity transmission and distribution activities shall be non-discriminatory and that tariffs will be set by the regulatory authority.

Rwanda Renewable Energy Feed In Tariff (REFIT 2012)

This regulation determines the applicable feed-in tariff for hydropower and mini hydropower plants in Rwanda. It applies to any entity intending to construct and operate a hydropower plant with generating capacity of between 50 kW and 10 MW. The operator must have a RURA generation license and a power purchase agreement with the transmission system operator (EWSA) or any other offtaker. The feed-in tariff only applies to projects that are within 10 km of the grid. For projects located further than 10 km from the grid, recovery of the cost of connection for transmission can be negotiated with the transmission system operator. The term of the tariff is 3 years, after which the agreement is reviewed. The list of current REFIT tariffs is available online at RURA’s website.

Further regulations

The Electricity Licensing Regulations published by the regulator, RURA, state the conditions and requirements for obtaining an electricity licence, as well as the duties of a licensee.

The Guidelines for Promoting Energy Efficiency Measures, also published by RURA, provide guidance for electricity consumers on how to increase energy efficiency, and outline measures that will promote efficient use of electricity. They are mainly applicable to businesses and industry, institutional premises, and residential consumers.