Southern Africa’s readiness for continental electricity trading was the focus of a regional appraisal workshop organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) in Gaborone, Botswana, from 21 to 23 September 2026. The African School of Regulation (ASR) joined the discussions on what regional and national institutions need to support the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM).
Dr Charly Gatete, ASR’s Head of Research, represented the School. The workshop examined regulatory and institutional capacity alongside market, technical, operational and infrastructure readiness. It also considered measures needed to strengthen alignment between existing arrangements in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and the wider AfSEM framework.
For AfSEM to work in practice, regional and national institutions will need the capacity to apply market arrangements and support cross-border trade. The appraisal provided a forum to assess Southern Africa’s readiness and consider where that capacity should be strengthened.
ASR is ready to work with the AUC and regional stakeholders, including SAPP, the Regional Energy Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA), policymakers, regulators and utilities, on capacity building that responds to the region’s needs. This would draw on ASR’s work in training, applied research, knowledge sharing and policy dialogue to support AfSEM implementation.
