New report on Mozambique's off-grid energy regulation

This study, funded by The University of Sheffield's Impact Accelerator Account, assesses the opportunities and challenges for the uptake of off-grid energy projects in Mozambique. It was conducted in the context of recent regulatory reforms following the approval of a new regulation for access to energy in off-grid areas (Decree 93/2021) in December 2021.

Based on key informant interviews with energy operators, donors and implementing partners, the study aims to understand what impact the regulation will have on Mozambique’s off-grid energy landscape, in general, and on community energy uptake.

The study finds that the regulation sets the foundation for off-grid energy uptake through increased confidence and investment in both the off-grid energy market and government institutions. However, challenges remain such as the transparency of roles and responsibilities of key government institutions and having appropriate resource mechanisms in place - e.g., financial incentives or human capital, to facilitate the regulation’s implementation. From the perspective of community energy projects, the study finds that the regulation provides the basis to enable this to happen, but that it is too early to tell what the scale of uptake might be in practice. The key informants also expressed their views about the consultation process that led to the development of the regulation. Overall, they were supportive of the process, noting that there were opportunities to review the draft regulation and that a number of their comments had been incorporated into the final version.

Based on the findings, nine policy recommendations are presented. These include, amongst others, for the government to urgently publish the accessory instruments that complete the off-grid regulatory framework. Recommendations also touch upon financing arrangements, consultation processes and institutional coordination. Finally, it is recommended that further data collection and analysis is undertaken to be able to capture the impacts of the regulatory framework on Mozambique’s off-grid energy sector into the future. This is important in the context of the Government’s ambitious target of achieving universal energy access by 2030.

You can download a full copy of the open access report via the link below.