The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) in its bid to strengthen regulatory partnerships and engagements with sister regulatory institutions, hosted a delegation from the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) of Uganda, and the Departmental Committee on Energy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya from October 2-6, 2023.

The essence of the visit was to undertake a benchmarking study to enhance capacity of the delegation in areas of risk management, with specific reference to ICT risks and business continuity management, and to gain deeper insight into the following areas of interest:

• Risk Management at the Corporate and Sector levels. Specifically, on the implementation of risk management policies, structures, monitoring, documentation, and related matters,
• Essential ICT infrastructure systems adopted to support electricity regulation, and
• Development of local content laws, policies, and their implementation in the electricity supply industry.
• Ghana's model of PPAs and the management of power generation, transmission, and distribution, including the use of alternative sources of power.

In his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, on behalf of staff, Management, and the Board of the Commission expressed his gratitude to the delegates for recognizing the Commission’s impact and regulatory efforts within the energy and the water industry and identifying the PURC as a model utility regulator to be understudied.

He further noted that, the Commission was indeed grateful to the Departmental Committee on Energy of the National Assembly of Kenya and the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Uganda for identifying PURC as an institution of choice for their benchmarking study.

According to Dr.  Ackah, the importance of sharing knowledge and best practices among sister countries in the sub-region was testament to PURC's commitment to promoting excellence and innovation in utility regulation on the African continent and the World at large. He assured the delegates of the Commission’s cooperation and fruitful deliberations.

Dr. Ackah was supported by Ing. Emmanuel Fiati, Director of Water Services and Performance Monitoring; Mrs. Nancy Atiemo, Director of Legal Services; Mr. Wallace Duodu, Director of Finance and Administration; Alhaji Jabaru Abukari, Director of Regional Operations and Consumers Services; Ing. Fred Oblitey, Director of Energy Services and Performance Monitoring; Dr. Eric Obutey, Director of Research and Corporate Affairs, and Mr. Robert Saka Addo, Ag. Director of Regulatory Economics gave brief presentations on the Overview of PURC, the Institutional Framework within which it operates, Governance structure, Oversight Committees, Risk Structures and Implementation of the Risk Management Policy, Application of ICT Infrastructure to Support Regulation of the Electricity Sector, Economic Regulation, Power Purchase Agreement Framework, and Processes, Technical Regulation of Power Purchase Agreements, Audit Structures and Processes.

The Commission also provided Networking Sessions with staff of the PURC Internal Audit Risk Team, Procurement Team, ICT and Research Teams to enable the delegation to interact on personal levels thereby cresting the opportunity to delve deeper into the operations of the Commission.

The Commission also facilitated a meeting with the Ministry of Energy and discussed the Power Purchase Agreements and Policy Framework. The delegation met with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and discussed the relationship between the off-taker and power producers; met with the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) to discuss the role of transmission and dispatch in Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs); met with the State Power generator, Volta River Authority (VRA) & and had the opportunity to tour the Akosombo Hydroelectric power plant.

The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) delegation comprised:

1. Moses Nyesiga - Manager, Internal Audit and Risk
2. John Saturday - Manager, Procurement and Disposal Unit
3. Anselm Olweny - Manager, Information and Communication Technology
4. Joel Adomati - Principal Risk Officer

The delegation from the Departmental Committee on Energy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya comprised:

1. Hon. Lemanken Aramat (Vice Chair of the Committee)
2. Hon. Simon Kingara
3. Hon. Geofrey Mulanya
4. Hon. Kamande Mwafrika
5. Dr (Ing) Joseph Oketch, (Director of Electricity and Renewable Energy EPRA)
6. Adan Gindicha

PURC Management in a meeting with the Kenyan Delegates		Members of the Kenyan Delegates Interacting During the Meeting
Dr. Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of PURC in pose with the Kenyan Delegation		Members of the Ugandan Delegation Seated
A section of the Ugandan Delegation Seated in a Meeting		Members of PURC Management Seated During the Meeting
Dr. Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of PURC in a pose with the Ugandan Delegation		Management and Staff of PURC in a Pose with the Ugandan Delegation
The Kenyan and Ugandan Delegates on a Facility Tour of the Akosombo Hydro-Electric Dam