A Message to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Energy

By Dr Jaafar Ahmed Khalifa
This is a message addressed to the Ministry of Energy and its affiliated institutions, as well as to the Office of the Prime Minister in the Government of “Hope”. It follows the clarification issued by the Technical Authority for Electricity Regulation and Control in response to recent public reactions to what it described as an “update to existing legislation”.
Understandably, the Authority should intervene and exercise its regulatory role in relation to solar power generation, where technical legislation is in place that allows electricity to be exchanged between the national grid and small generating systems installed on rooftops and elsewhere. Such regulation would be necessary to ensure that electricity exported to the grid meets the technical specifications of the state distribution network, and that inverters are equipped with anti-islanding protection.
It is also understandable that the Authority, or another government body, should regulate the solar-energy market and issue licences permitting companies and registered businesses to operate, provided that they meet clearly defined requirements.
If all of this is reasonable, why has what is described as a mere legislative update generated such controversy and public disapproval?
The criticism and objection were justified for the following reasons.
First: The Necessary Technical Legislation Does Not Yet Exist in Practice
The technical legislation referred to above, which would justify the Authority’s intervention, does not yet exist in any meaningful form.
Citizens have not even benefited from legal provisions and technical arrangements that encourage them to generate solar electricity and export their surplus to the national grid in exchange for receiving electricity back in the evening, let alone from any additional incentives.
Second: Inspecting Solar Panels Is Not the Authority’s Proper Function
It is inappropriate for the Authority to assume responsibility for inspecting solar panels. That task belongs to the Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organisation.
Even that organisation would be better advised to delegate the technical inspection process to a more specialised third party so that it can concentrate on its core responsibilities. This point is directed particularly to the Office of the Prime Minister.
The third party could be a specialised government institution, although the preferable option would be to accredit qualified private-sector companies to carry out the work. Government institutions would then be free to focus on developing policy, issuing legislation, supervising implementation and assessing whether the intended objectives were being achieved.
Since the Authority has assumed a function that does not fit naturally within its mandate or general purpose, and has imposed fees for performing it, the negative public reaction was entirely predictable.
Third: A Major Regulatory Vacuum Exists Elsewhere
There is an enormous regulatory gap in another area whose effects on consumers are no less serious than the importation of poor-quality solar panels, inverters and other components. I will return to the consequences of this regulatory vacuum at the end of this article.
The gap concerns the regulation of professions and commercial activities associated with solar energy. These include the importation of solar-system components, their wholesale and retail sale, system design and, finally, installation.
If the legislation governing the Authority, or any other institution, already covers this area, it should be treated as the priority. If it does not, lawmakers must expand the mandate of the Authority or another suitable government body to cover this important field. This is another matter for the Office of the Prime Minister.
Why, then, did the reported announcement relating to this important issue also provoke objection?
The main reason was the imposition of financial charges for the Authority’s performance of this regulatory role, based on the assumption that the information circulating online was accurate.
Government institutions should encourage people to meet their electricity needs through solar power rather than create financial obstacles. This is particularly important because fees have already been paid to the government when registering businesses and companies with the Commercial Registrar.
Many male and female engineers are entering this sector with technical knowledge, which is the most important form of capital, but may lack sufficient financial resources. They should be encouraged, not frustrated.
The public objection was not caused solely by the proposed fees. The announcement, assuming its reported contents were accurate, also failed to specify professional requirements for companies and registered businesses. Such requirements should form the very foundation of effective regulation in the solar-energy market.
In other words, regulating the market does not simply mean forcing companies and businesses to register with the Authority, or another body, and pay a fee in exchange for permission to operate. Professional competence requirements are far more important.
Disorder in the Solar-Energy Market
I will briefly outline the disorder currently affecting the solar-energy market, its harmful consequences for consumers and public finances, and the reforms that the Technical Authority for Electricity Regulation and Control, or another appropriate institution, should undertake.
At present, many people have entered the business of importing solar system components, selling them at wholesale or retail, or installing solar systems without proper design. As individuals or companies, many possess little or no technical knowledge of the field.
Every citizen has the right to seek profit and increase their income. However, businesses operating in this sector should be required to employ qualified technical personnel. This requirement should be the central principle governing and regulating the solar-energy market.
The absence of technical expertise alongside commercial activity has resulted in serious errors for which consumers have paid the price. Considerable public money has also been wasted where faulty systems have been installed in government institutions.
I have personally examined solar-energy installations that caused consumers to lose confidence in solar power and regard it as a major deception. The reason was the absence of proper market regulation.
On one occasion, I happened to inspect two solar-power installations at government institutions in the capital on the same day. Both contained serious faults. An official at one of those institutions acknowledged the mistake and the technical trap into which the institution had fallen.
Employing qualified technical personnel would protect importers, local sellers and contractors from technical deception when purchasing products from foreign or domestic suppliers. It would also help them avoid breaching relevant laws.
Among the improper practices I have observed is the tendency of retail traders to decide which system components customers require, despite having no technical knowledge qualifying them to perform that task.
We therefore genuinely need legally regulated operating licences that restrict participation in the sector to those possessing appropriate professional qualifications.
However, such licences should not carry substantial fees. If charges are considered absolutely necessary, they should be nominal. Responsible governments encourage renewable-energy activity, and Sudan needs such encouragement more than most countries.
The Need for Qualified Personnel and an Independent Renewable-Energy Authority
Sudan therefore needs legislation requiring businesses involved in solar energy to employ properly qualified technical personnel. This is where the Authority, or another suitable official institution, should exercise its regulatory and supervisory role.
Moreover, the rapid growth in the use of solar power, together with Sudan’s broader need to shift towards renewable-energy sources, calls for the establishment of an independent authority responsible for all matters relating to renewable energy in the country. All relevant procedures should fall under a single administrative umbrella.
Finally, I believe that resolving overlapping and conflicting responsibilities, updating legislation to meet present and future needs, and promoting institutional development all fall within the mandate of the Council of Ministers. That is the most important destination for this message.
The subject of qualified technical personnel will, God willing, be discussed separately in a future article.

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