Category: Policy Watch Middle East and Africa

South Africa’s New Unbundling Model: Delinks grid assets from future TSO

South Africa’s New Unbundling Model: Delinks grid assets from future TSO

March 30, 2026 | ,

South Africa’s power sector reforms have taken a new turn and are back in the spotlight. The country’s electricity minister, in December 2025, approved the state-owned utility Eskom’s revised unbundling strategy. Under the structure, a new holding company will be established with four subsidiaries – National Electricity Distribution Company of South Africa to strengthen distribution networks; GenerationCo to hold legacy generation assets; Eskom Green – a new subsidiary to house Eskom’s renewable energy business; and the National Transmission Company of South Africa SOC Limited.

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Nigeria’s Electricity Devolution Law Creates an Opportunity to Reshape Its Power System

Nigeria’s Electricity Devolution Law Creates an Opportunity to Reshape Its Power System

February 2, 2026 | ,

The Electricity Act 2023 is more than just a policy reform, it is an invitation to reimagine Nigeria’s energy future through bottom-up innovation, state-driven leadership, and a coordinated national vision. It is therefore imperative for development partners to collaborate with state authorities to help shape an energy transition that aligns with national goals. Moreover, aligning state-level planning with strong, decentralized market structures presents an opportunity to increase grid resilience and supply availability and reliability at optimal cost.

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Evolution of Tunisia’s renewable energy policy framework

Evolution of Tunisia’s renewable energy policy framework

April 21, 2025 | ,

When Tunisia became independent in 1956, it inherited an energy sector that was dominated by private companies and provided energy to only a minority of the Tunisian population. Energy is a crucial question for Tunisia, which saw a shift from energy self-sufficiency to energy stress from the 2000s on. One major step in this development was the 2015 law (2015– 12) that on the one hand updated the Tunisian Solar Plan of 2009, setting more ambitious goals of 30% RE in 2030, particularly ambitious compared to the starting point of 3% generated by two wind farms.

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Insights from the US and India for Electricity Open Access in Kenya and South Africa

Insights from the US and India for Electricity Open Access in Kenya and South Africa

December 20, 2024 | ,

Kenya and South Africa have recently started moving toward an open access regime in their electricity sectors, while the US and India have been on this path for over two decades. Open access involves unbundling the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to create a more competitive and efficient market. This restructuring facilitates access by independent power producers (IPPs) to the transmission grid, increasing power supply and attracting investment and innovation in the electricity sector.

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South Africa Power Restructuring: NTCSA officially launched post-legislation of ERAA

South Africa Power Restructuring: NTCSA officially launched post-legislation of ERAA

December 17, 2024 | ,

Power sector reforms are taking shape in South Africa as it prepares to end the severe power shortages it has faced for several years, caused by the inefficient energy system and inadequate investment by the state-owned utility Eskom. Restructuring the utility has been on the cards for over two decades, but this has finally been legalised through the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act (ERAA) in August 2024. On October 7, 2024, the National Transmission Company of South Africa SOC Limited (NTCSA) was officially launched, three months after it became an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Eskom Holdings Limited on July 1, 2024. The company is focusing on realising the benefits of the ERAA.

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Nigeria Moves Toward a Sustainable COVID-19 Recovery

Nigeria Moves Toward a Sustainable COVID-19 Recovery

January 14, 2021 | , ,

To address the economic challenges of the pandemic, Nigeria’s federal government approved the $5.9 billion (N23 trillion) Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan in July 2020. The recovery plan includes investments in clean energy, agriculture and infrastructure. The most noteworthy piece of green spending is a $619 million commitment to the Solar Homes Systems Project, which will help install solar home systems for up to 5 million households, serving about 25 million individual Nigerians who are not currently connected to the national grid.

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