Reps pass Renewable Energy Regulation Bill for second reading

Energy experts have urged Nigeria and other African countries to link investments in renewable energy to industrial growth, local manufacturing and job creation, warning that the continent could miss the economic benefits of the global energy transition if it continues to depend on imported technologies.

They said renewable energy investments must go beyond expanding electricity generation to powering industries, strengthening indigenous businesses, developing technical skills and creating regional supply chains capable of retaining economic value within Africa.

The experts spoke yesterday at the inaugural Energy Transition Africa (ETA) 2026 Colloquium, held virtually, where policymakers, energy practitioners and researchers examined the theme, “Transition or Transformation? What Will the New Energy Economy Mean for Africa’s Development?”

They argued that the real measure of Africa’s energy transition should be its contribution to industrialisation, productive employment, affordable electricity and improved livelihoods, rather than the volume of investments attracted or renewable energy installations completed.

Opening the discussion, the Head of Policy Planning and Strategy at the African Energy Commission of the African Union, Yagouba Traoré, said African countries must harness their abundant energy resources to build domestic industries instead of remaining exporters of raw materials and consumers of imported technologies.

Traoré noted that nearly 600 million Africans lacked access to electricity, while close to one billion relied on firewood, charcoal and kerosene for cooking, underscoring the scale of the continent’s energy access challenge.

He said Africa’s solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal resources presented opportunities to accelerate industrialisation, provided governments prioritised local manufacturing, mineral processing, technical education and domestic financing.

In her featured address, the Executive Director of Governance and Sustainability at Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray, said renewable energy investments would deliver meaningful economic transformation only when they strengthened local productive capacity and supported industrial development.

Using Nigeria’s power sector as an example, Gray cited Egbin Power, First Independent Power and Ikeja Electric as examples of efforts to develop local expertise, strengthen indigenous management and increase domestic procurement.

The Founder and Executive Director of Rabia Transitions, Dr Chantal Naidoo, identified financing arrangements as a major constraint to Africa’s ability to translate energy investments into industrial development.

Naidoo argued that existing international financing structures often left African governments carrying disproportionate risks while foreign investors retained much of the commercial value generated by projects.

Meanwhile, Policy Lead for Minerals and Mining Policy at the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Maybel Acquaye, urged African governments to integrate renewable energy investments with agriculture, local supply chains and manufacturing.

MEANWHILE, the House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish a National Authority for Renewable Energy (NARE).

The proposed authority would coordinate renewable energy development and regulation, taking over key responsibilities currently shared by existing power-sector agencies.

The Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Anambra State, Afam Victor Ogene, received the legislators’ backing yesterday.

Ogene, chairman of the House Committee on Renewable Energy, said the bill would transfer renewable energy functions from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) to the proposed authority.