Rabat, November 21, 2023 – The National Electricity Regulatory Authority (ANRE) is hosting the Workshop and General Assembly of the French-speaking Network of Energy Regulators on November 21 and 22, 2023 in Rabat (RegulaE.Fr), in partnership with the European Commission. The first day of this international event saw the participation of 160 personalities from 21 countries, headed by the presidents of the regulatory authorities of the African countries members of the Network.
Also senior officials from the energy ecosystem in Morocco took part to the event, notably from the Ministry of Energy, Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MTEDD), the Ministry of the Interior, Moroccan Agency for Renewable Energy (MASEN), the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) or the President of the federation of Energy.
This international meeting has as its central theme: “Energy interconnections and the regulation for cohesive regional integration”. A subject of great strategic significance, in a context where our Kingdom positions itself as a continental and world leader in the field of renewable energies, while assuming its avant-garde ambitions in the establishment of intercontinental energy interconnections (electricity and gas), vectors of rapprochement between peoples and nations, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, may God protect Him.
“Interconnections are not just cables or pipes, but vital arteries that fuel economic development, strengthen energy security and breathe fresh air into our environmental commitments,” said Abdellatif Bardach, President of the ANRE and Vice-President of RegulaE.Fr during his opening remarks. Mr. Bardach strongly called on his African regulatory counterparts to work together, in an anticipatory approach, to translate our regional ambitions into reality, particularly through the support of electric transport managers for the creation of the Morocco-Mauritania-Senegal interconnection in the first stage, and in the second stage, the electrical interconnection with the West African Power Pool (WAPP) within a framework of South-South cooperation.
In addition to highlighting the dynamism of the Moroccan energy momentum, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, may God preserve Him, rich discussions continued between the participants in the various panels of the event. They focused on subjects as strategic as they were varied, headed by the importance of the harmonization of standards, laws and regulations as well as the scope of the scope of intervention of regulators in this area, without forgetting the component of investment which also constituted an essential point, like the gas pipeline interconnection project between Morocco and Nigeria, which should connect 13 African countries.
The work of this event continues on Wednesday, November 22, addressing in particular the role of interconnections in the service of security of supply and the energy transition, and will be concluded by the holding of the General Assembly of RegulaE.Fr.
About RegulaE.FR:
The French-speaking Network of Energy Regulators (RegulaE.Fr) was created on November 28, 2016 in Paris with the aim of bringing together regulators sharing the French language within the same network in order to facilitate exchanges and encourage collaboration between its members. RegulaE.Fr currently has 32 regulatory authorities from Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. The network thus promotes the sharing of information and good practices in energy regulation, facilitates technical cooperation between regulators, ensures coordination with international training programs, and works to sustain its activities through research. funding from European and international donors.
About ANRE:
ANRE is a legal entity under public law with financial autonomy and created under Law No. 48-15 relating to the regulation of the electricity sector and the creation of the National Electricity Regulatory Authority. It is the independent regulator of electricity in Morocco, guarantor of the proper functioning of the market, it ensures in particular fair access to the national electricity transport network and the electricity distribution networks and supports the national energy transition.
