Staff Reporter
The Electricity Control Board (ECB), in collaboration with the European Union’s (EU) GET.transform programme, has officially launched the Embedded Generation Application Platform, which aims to facilitate the submission of applications for embedded generation systems below 500 kilovolt-amperes (kVA).
“Namibia’s electricity sector is undergoing its most fundamental transformation since independence. Across our towns and cities and increasingly in our rural areas too, we are seeing a steady rise in embedded and renewable generation. It is happening. No one can stop it. So I think it is the right thing to do to embrace the realities on the ground and to ensure that these types of application tools are efficiently and effectively deployed. All of us as an industry would be able to reap the benefits thereof,” the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ECB, Robert Kahimise, said.
He highlighted the launch of the platform as a welcome development that reflects growing investor and consumer confidence in Namibia’s energy future. According to Kahimise, the development supports Namibia’s national ambitions for energy security, diversification and long-term tariff stability. He emphasised that the development is also entirely consistent with the direction in which power sectors across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are headed.
“We are privileged to join that cohort of countries in digitising the deployment of renewable energy in Namibia,” Kahimise said.
Kahimise pointed to South Africa and Kenya as examples of African countries that have experienced rapid growth in rooftop solar, largely as a response to load-shedding. This, he stressed, was because those countries had no choice, and because they were forced to take that route, their application processes remain fragmented across municipalities and utilities, often taking 90 to 180 days.
“We are fortunate to have a choice. Whatever we are deploying now is to create sustainability into the electricity industry going forward,” Kahimise said.
According to Kahimise, the unified online platform will establish standardised processes and provide applicants, utilities and the regulator with a single source of information. He said this could give Namibia a competitive advantage in attracting distributed energy investment while ensuring that such investments remain safe and compliant.
Kahimise noted that the Electricity Act did not prohibit anyone from actually bringing distributed generation closer to consumers. He explained that, given the country’s low population density and the pressure on the tariff basket, the ECB, as the regulator, has no choice but to embrace this development and create a regulated market.
“We also expect our transmitter – NamPower – to also respond accordingly. As the regulator, we have no other choice but to open up a market – not theoretically, or academic. This is a real market that needs to evolve to allow the players to determine where they want to take this market,” he continued.
Kahimise explained that the ECB is in the process of putting the visibility standards and data systems in place before embedded generation becomes the dominant form of new capacity.
“This launch therefore does more than serve Namibia. It positions us to lead the regional conversation on how African countries can safely and efficiently integrate millions of small generators into aging distribution networks. But this shift brings with it a clear responsibility for us as regulators. A regulatory framework designed for a small number of large centralised generators cannot simply be stretched to accommodate thousands of smaller distributed installations, connecting to the grid at the bigger voltage levels. If our processes lag behind the pace of change in the market, we risk slowing down the very investment we want to encourage,” Kahimise said.
Photo: Electricity Control Board
