Members of Parliament,
Chairman of the LEA Board,
Members of the RERA Executive,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honour and pleasure to have been invited to officiate at this important event, the launch of the Lesotho Electricity Authority (LEA). I welcome you all to this occasion. In particular, I want to extend a warm welcome to our brothers and sisters present from some of our sister-countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and beyond. I must not forget the representatives of our financiers of the reform process, the World Bank (WB) and African Development Bank (AfDB).

Master of Ceremonies, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here at an auspicious moment in the development of the Lesotho electricity industry. Today, we have come to bear witness to the fact that there is a regulator for the electricity sector in this country. In the past one- and- half-years, since its establishment, the LEA has grown from strength to strength, participating in efforts to effectively and efficiently regulate the development of electricity industry in the country in accordance with its statutory mandate. The launch of LEA is meant to further cement its role as a competent regulator and this is witnessed by both local and international stakeholders and RERA members from its constituent regulatory bodies.

The Government of Lesotho has been implementing a series of reforms in the power sector because of several factors. Firstly, the sector is characterised by low access to electricity whereby only 11% of all households and 2% of the rural households have access to electricity. The target is to reach at least 35% electrification by 2015. This is because it is clear that there can be no meaningful socio-economic development in Lesotho and other developing countries without electricity. Hence the Government is firmly focused on the expansion of the access to electricity to all our people, whether it is by grid or stand alone renewable energy systems. We must therefore all work harder to ensure that the multitude of benefits that electricity brings to the lives of our people is realised within the shortest possible time. Secondly, there has been a lot of inefficiency in the power sector institutions, which until recently was evidenced by relatively high global losses, high tariffs and high operating costs. Lastly, the sector has also been experiencing a lack of financial resources, which are required to roll out a very aggressive and effective electrification drive and other expansion requirements.

To address the above problems the Government undertook reforms which were aimed at liberalising the sector to bring in more players besides the state-owned entities. The reforms entailed the commercialisation of the operations of the country’s main utility, the Lesotho Electricity Corporation (LEC) as well as enticing private sector participation in it. The second component of the reforms was to ensure that the tariffs of ‘Muela, the generation plant, are competitive with those of the region. Government also wanted to establish rural electrification structures such the Department of Energy’s Rural Electrification Unit (REU) and it is now exploring ways to create a National Rural Electrification Fund (NREF). The last component was to establish an independent regulator to oversee the expanded electricity sector. And so the LEA was born.

Ladies and gentlemen, in accordance with the requirements of the Lesotho Electricity Authority Act of 2002 all electricity activities that must be licensed by LEA include generation, transmission, distribution, supply, import and export of electricity; and I am pleased to inform you that we are at an advanced stage of promulgating relevant legislation to address the above, bearing in mind the numerous benefits of effective regulation. This is very important because the LEA Act among other things itself underscores the need for order in the industry as an essential pre-requisite for development and growth. There can be no meaningful investment in a chaotic industry. Of all institutions in the electricity sector, both present and still to come, LEA is expected to represent the interests of customers, licensees, Government and potential investors. It has to determine the technical standards, regulate tariffs and engage in dispute resolution to name but a few of its functions. In this all, the Authority must support the Government policy of striving to eradicate poverty in the country.

Master of Ceremonies, ladies and gentlemen, the symbiotic nature of the relationship between the LEA and rural electrification cannot be overemphasised. One of the mandates of the LEA is to play a leading role in rural electrification initiatives. This role it will, among others, play by resolving disputes and monitoring technical standards. LEA will also help rural area licensees with advice and expertise on how to fulfil their contractual obligations. I am informed that LEA has, in conjunction with the REU, been visiting the Electricity Access Pilot Projects (EAPPs) to appreciate and take part in an informed way, the context of Government’s rural electrification initiatives. The EAPPs are meant to test various business models for implementing electrification projects at the local micro level. It is hoped that the success of EAPPs will encourage local entrepreneurs to do business in the electricity sector. LEA has also participated in several rural electrification meetings and workshops.

Master of Ceremonies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I should mention that the entire SADC region is facing a power supply crisis brought about by the fact that demand for electricity is rapidly exceeding the available generation capacity. This precarious state of affairs implies that Lesotho must work hard to ensure adequate supply of electric energy in the future, particularly through the development of our own sources of electricity. Currently we only have the ‘Muela Hydropower generation facility. I would like to urge all stakeholders, under the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources to strive to attain a state whereby demand for electricity does not affect the security of supply. The benefits that this could bring to Lesotho in terms of investment, infrastructure development, employment creation and advanced technology cannot be over-stated. Thus, I want to urge all power sector stakeholders, to redouble their efforts to ensure that the security of energy supply in Lesotho is guaranteed. LEA has a crucial role to play in this effort.

At this juncture I should mention that Lesotho has a variety of energy resources and the common and readily available ones are solar and wind energy. These sources of energy must benefit our people who cannot access grid electricity. LEA is mandated among others, to license dealers who are capable of running efficient and financially viable photo-voltaic businesses.

Finally, as we celebrate the launch of LEA, we are equally jubilant that we can also share experiences with our colleagues from the Regional Electricity Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (RERA). I am informed that RERA is an association of regulators in Southern Africa, which include the Lesotho Electricity Authority, National Electricity Council of Malawi (NECO), National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) the Energy Regulation Board of Zambia (ERB), Electricity Control Board (ECB) of Namibia and Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission (ZERC). I am also aware that regulatory bodies have just been formed in Tanzania and Angola which means that our family of regulators is indeed becoming bigger and stronger in the region. I am informed that the secretariat of RERA is in Windhoek, Namibia. As a member of SADC, Lesotho is always honoured to work with those institutions which further the aims and objectives of SADC. Unity is not political only; unity must embrace all aspects of our life in SADC, including what RERA has done and achieved.

Lastly, Master of Ceremonies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I must thank all those who have made this launch possible.

With these remarks, Master of Ceremonies, I officially launch the Lesotho Electricity Authority.

Master of Ceremonies,
I wish LEA and RERA successes in the future.
I thank you.

Khotso! Pula! Nala!