EAT Corespondent:18/2/25 The Sectoral Council on Energy, Petroleum and Mining held on 14th February, 2025, in Arusha, Tanzania agreed to establish the Centre of Excellence for the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency ( EACREEE) as an Institution of the East African Community.
The decision to transform EACREEE into an EAC Institution came during the 16th Meeting of the Sectoral Council of Ministers on Energy reviewed the status of the Centre of Excellence and directed the EACREEE Secretariat to coordinate with the EAC Secretariat, to develop a Concept Paper highlighting the status of EACREEE establishment, progress, bottlenecks and opportunities for the Partner States and the region.
ACREEE’s mandate of promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency for socioeconomic development, climate action and environmental stewardship is derived from and aligned with the EAC Treaty, EAC Vision 2050, 6th EAC Development Strategy (2021/22 – 2025/26), EAC Energy Security
On the preparations for the 11th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition 2025 (EAPCE’25) the Sectoral Council took note of the Conference & Exhibition 2025 to be held from 5th – 7th March, 2025, at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The Sectoral Council was briefed on the ongoing registration exercise and informed that 50% of the expected 1,000 delegates had already registered from various sectors within the region and beyond. The Sectoral Council urged all the Partner States to register delegates by February 28th, 2025
On the Power Supply Situation and Status of Implementation of the East African Power System Master Plan (EAPMP the Sectoral Council observed that the level of connectivity and access to power as well as the consumption per capita in the region is still relatively low. The Sectoral Council urged Partner States to put more effort in investing in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and come up with demand stimulation strategies to promote productive use of electricity.
On the Development of the Regional EAC Energy Efficiency Policy, the Sectoral Council took note of the progress made in Country Consultations conducted in all Partner States. However, the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) felt that there was need for them to undertake further country consultations and requested for additional time up to end June 2025. The Sectoral Council directed the Secretariat to convene a regional validation meeting by July 2025 to validate the new version of the policy that incorporates URT’s comments.
In his remarks during the official opening of the Ministerial Session, Dr. Anthony Kafumbe, the Counsel to the Community (CTC), who spoke on behalf of Hon. Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, the Deputy Secretary General (Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors), reiterated the need for a collective effort to ensure that over 130 million citizens of the Community have access to modern and sustainable energy solutions.
“Reliable and affordable energy is an imperative for the transformation and development outlined in our EAC Vision 2050,” said Dr. Kafumbe
Dr. Kafumbe emphasized the importance of forging pathways to capitalize on the diverse energy resources across the region through harnessing renewable energy, advancing technological innovation and fostering regional partnerships.
Leave a Reply