ECB’s plan to regulate all energy
The Electricity Control Board (ECB) has detailed, in its recently released Integrated Strategic Business Plan for 2026 to 2031, how it intends to expand regulation from electricity to include gas and downstream petroleum.
In her statement, the Board Chair, Evangelina Nailenge, said that “effective regulation enables measurable national outcomes”. She added: “As government advances the transition towards the Namibia Energy Regulatory Authority (NERA), the ECB remains committed to ensuring a stable, orderly, and well-governed progression.”
According to the ECB CEO Robert Kahimise, the plan “outlines the Electricity Control Board’s priorities for regulating a secure, affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity sector, while preparing for transition to the Namibia Energy Regulatory Authority (NERA)”.
The anticipated NERA Act will consolidate the new Electricity Act, the Gas Bill, the revised Petroleum Act, and downstream petroleum regulations, according to the introduction to the plan. “This places the ECB at an inflexion point: it must continue delivering under its current electricity mandate,” the introduction reads, “…while building the governance systems, skills, and digital capabilities required for a future unified multi-energy mandate under NERA.”
Becoming NERA will be phased in with the ECB in the 2026/27 financial year, stabilising its funding model, launching its Data and Regulatory Analytics Management System (DREAMS) digital platform, and completing the legislative groundwork for NERA. The second phase will involve the promulgation of the NERA Act between 2027/28 and 2028/29, the establishment of gas and petroleum regulatory desks, the rollout of new levies, and a full rebranding. During the 2029/30 and 2030/31 financial years, the focus will shift to operating as a multi-energy regulator with artificial intelligence-enabled oversight and strengthened regional market integration.
Funding proposal
Before June this year, the ECB intends to submit a funding model reform proposal to the ministry, finalise procurement for DREAMS, conduct a public awareness campaign, and appoint a task force for transition governance.
By the 2027/28 financial year, the number of staff at the regulator will increase from 55 to 57, and then to 66 from 2028/29 through to 2030/31. Most of the positions will be in technical regulation, while additional economists, market regulation officers, and legal officials will also be appointed. Personnel costs are expected to grow from almost N$80 million in 2027 to N$106.7 million in 2031. Upskilling staff, acquiring NERA-relevant skilled specialists, and institutionalising succession planning will occur concurrently.
To execute its immediate work plan, the ECB intends to spend N$5.79 million in the 2026/27 financial year, including strategic interventions worth N$3.1 million. These include N$1 million for a NERA blueprint and manual, N$300 000 for a perception survey, N$1.3 million for an independent transmission company framework, N$100 000 for finalisation of the NERA and Electricity Bills, N$100 000 to finalise the Gas Bill, N$200 000 for a gas licensing framework, and a further N$100 000 for the electricity industry reform framework.
Costed operational initiatives worth almost N$2.6 million include N$96 000 for an internal audit, N$500 000 for software design, configuration, testing, and deployment, and N$500 000 for a performance management system.
