AfDB, World Bank set to reform electricity sector with GERI report

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank are set to reform the global electricity sector with their Global Electricity Regulatory Index (GERI) report.

The report, which is sponsored by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and undertaken in partnership with the AfDB, is targeted at capturing the state of power sector regulation in Africa and across the developing world.

GERI, which surveyed 82 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, would help the World Bank’s global effort to promote a robust electricity sector regulatory environment.

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At its virtual launch, which took place on December 8, 2022, was attended by 240 government officials, regulatory entities, development finance institutions, and African and international private sector stakeholders.

The GERI which is an offshoot of the African Development Bank’s Electricity Regulation Index (ERI) report, published in 2018, has become the gold standard among regulators and other stakeholders across the continent for measuring electricity production, transmission, and consumption. Also, the ERI has helped guide electricity reforms within the continent of Africa.

“This year heralds a crucial new stage for our research thanks to our collaboration with the World Bank. This allows us to compare African regulation with that of other developing regions and demonstrates that the ERI has been influential not only in Africa but also in the rest of the world,” Wale Shonibare, Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy, and Regulation at the African Development Bank, said of the bank’s efforts to drive electricity sector reforms.

Vivien Foster, World Bank Chief Economist for Infrastructure, said, “While a lot of progress has been made with the establishment of regulatory frameworks, the Global Electricity Regulatory Index (GERI) report highlights some systematic gaps, particularly with regard to regulatory independence and the practice of tariff regulation.”