Angola facilitates private sector investment in the energy sector with the creation of an independent regulatory body and revision of the electricity law
The Ministry of Energy and Water (MINEA) will have an independent regulatory body for energy and water services, said Minister João Baptista Borges on 20th September, in Luanda, at the closing of MINEA's Advisory Board.
The new institution, which will be autonomous and independente different from the current situation of IRSEA, will exercise powers in terms of setting prices, and the Minister also pointed out that a public-private partnership (PPP) solution is being planned for Luanda province, where resolutions will be adopted with a view to introducing improvements in the public service.
Regarding this change, which sends a signal of openness to greater private participation in the energy sector, the Minister said: ‘We are going beyond what will be the most active role of the public sector. We want to bring the private sector into the activity we carry out, we have to have regulation here that is equidistant from everyone and also from the consumers of energy and water services’. At the same time, he expressed concern about commercial activity, defending the need to raise collection rates.
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In the same week, the revision of the General Electricity Law was approved by the Council of Ministers, which will open up space for private sector intervention in the field of energy transmission in the country.
According to the minister, among the sector's various priorities is the expansion of the energy transmission and distribution grids, also promoting more accessible and sustainable energy for millions of Angolans. “The country is continuing its commitment to exploiting its greatest renewable resource, water, and is continuing to build Caculo Cabaça, with 2170 MW, while this year it also completed the rehabilitation and modernization of the Luachimo, Matala and Cunje hydroelectric plants,” he said. With this development, the matrix now incorporates 66% renewable production capacity, which is a remarkable development over the last ten years.