Since the end of 2018, AETS has been managing a European Union-funded contract in Mozambique, entitled “Technical Assistance – Energy Resource Centre”. The four-year project is a long-term technical assistance project implemented by the Government of Mozambique with the aim of increasing gender equitable and affordable energy access in the country’s rural areas.
Located in South-eastern Africa, Mozambique is a vast country with 28.8 million inhabitants which has made significant progress on all developmental indicators over the course of the past 25 years. Despite progress made, the country continues to struggle to improve living standards, including access to electricity, and continues to be ranked one of the poorest countries in the world, with a poverty incidence of 46.1% (2014). In terms of electricity, Mozambique has high generation capacity in comparison to its domestic consumption. In 2016, Mozambique consumed less than a third of its electricity production, with the rest being sold as one of the country’s main exports – which entails contractual obligations. Currently, only 26.2% of the population has access to the electricity grid and 39% has access to electricity when accounting for access to off-grid electricity systems. In the Government’s Five-Year Plan for 2015-2019, the Government of Mozambique committed itself to increasing access to clean and affordable energy by 50% by 2020.
The AETS-led contract specifically looks to provide technical assistance in response to requests by public institutions in the energy sector through the management of a Resource Centre. The core beneficiaries include the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (Ministério dos Recursos Minerais e Energia, MIREME – Portuguese acronym), the recently established energy regulator (Autoridade Reguladora de Energia, ARENE – Portuguese acronym), the state electrical utility (Electricidade de Moçambique, EDM – Portuguese acronym) and the Mozambican Energy Fund (FUNAE).
The specific technical assistance and support to ARENE has focused on the establishment and monitoring of a final set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the full electricity value chain: technical and commercial, generation, transmission and distribution. This study will be mainly geared towards EDM, but may be adapted to other actors. Performance indicators are essential instruments to measure the success and scope of the strategies and measures adopted by ARENE in fulfilling its duties and responsibilities.
In addition, the AETS consortium has launched three other activities: for all beneficiaries, a capacity building for renewable energy feasibility studies; for MIREME, a national energy efficiency strategy and action plan; and for FUNAE, a feasibility study for the transfer of the Majaua power plant to a private operator.
The capacity building activity entails improving the beneficiaries’ capacity to evaluate and undertake renewable energy feasibility studies by providing technical assistance to Mozambican public entities and selected private and financial institutions to assess, prepare, study, formulate, select and facilitate investment projects in the area of renewable energies. The national energy efficiency strategy will be elaborated by the AETS team and aimed at MIREME to serve as the backbone for creating appropriate energy efficiency policies and regulations. Once elaborated and approved, this strategy will define an action plan with measurable targets. Finally, the feasibility study for Majaua is being undertaken to determine the viability of transferring the operation and maintenance of the Majaua mini-grid, including the hydropower plant, to a private operator.
In addition, nine other activities are under preparation for launching in the coming weeks and months:
-
Economic dispatch for revenue protection – EDM
-
VRE integration and battery storage – EDM
-
Majaua inauguration ceremony - FUNAE
-
Time of Use tariffs - EDM
-
Energy Information System – MIREME
-
PIS for 50 mini grids – EDM
-
RE projects database – EDM
-
Communication strategy – FUNAE
-
Strategic planning – ARENE