GET.invest Contributes to Mini-grid Training in Mozambique
GET.invest, together with the USAID-SPEED+ project, contributed to a two-day training seminar on mini-grids and on-grid renewable energy in Maputo/Mozambique.
The seminar, held from 18th to 20th February 2019, was organised by Economic Consulting Associates (ECA) as part of a multi-faceted renewable energy consultancy, financed by the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). GET.invest used the training to affirm its continued support for the Government of Mozambique’s transition towards a more liberalised electricity sector.
Based on the Mini-Grid Policy Toolkit published by GET.invest’s predecessor EUEI PDF/RECP, the participants learned how private sector developed mini-grids can provide sustainable solutions to increase access to affordable energy. The question was explored in the context of the existing legislation as well as the current draft electricity law that will be under consideration by the Government of Mozambique in 2019. Subjects included the management of mini-grids, PPP models for financing mini-grids, project risks and solutions, price and tariff setting, and how to carry out environmental impact assessments.
More than 40 participants from the provincial delegations of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), Fundo de Energia (FUNAE), as well as Maputo-based representatives of MIREME, FUNAE, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and energy regulator ARENE took part in the training. It stimulated a debate on a number of key electrification issues, including the limits of government funding for rural electrification, and the importance to leverage finance, management and implementation capacity from the private sector. Another important subject that was dealt with was how dynamic demand from rural households and enterprises that are connected to the network can be managed over time, which is often a constraint to the viability of investments by the private sector.
Learn more about Mozambique’s energy sector in the GET.invest Mozambique country brief.