Liberia: AfDB Approves U.S.$255,000 to Establish Regulatory Database Management System for LERC

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved US$255,000 to support the establishment of a Regulatory Database Management System (RDBMS) at the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC).

In a request to the AfDB, the LERC informed the Bank that while it was making significant progress in developing the necessary regulatory instruments, the Commission lacked a robust automated regulatory database management system.

The RDBMS will improve the Commission’s operational efficiency and quality of regulatory decisions as indicated by the three key regulatory indexes – governance, substance, and outcomes.

In a letter of response to the Commission’s request, AfDB’s Manager for Energy Policy, Regulation & Statistics Mr. Callixte Kambanda said “the Bank was pleased to inform the Commission that it had obtained funding approval to support the establishment of RDBMS at LERC”.

Mr. Kambanda said RDBMS will be funded and implemented through the Bank’s Special Initiative Budget and will work with the Commission to expedite implementation of project within a twelve-month period.

Dr. Lawrence D. Sekajipo, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners (BoC) thanked the AfDB for funding the establishment of the RDBMS and pointed out that this is another “major milestone in the short history of the Commission.” Dr. Sekajipo asserted that the RDBMS when setup will digitize LERC’s internal processes which will enable the Commission to improve operational efficiency, achieve higher productivity, and reduce turnaround times in business processes.

The RDBMS will automate key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor utilities’ performance on benchmarks such as financial performance, technical and commercial quality of service performance, and quality of service delivery and operational efficiency. Additionally, the system will automate LERC’s regulatory processes to enable the Commission monitor compliance in an accurate and timely manner, regulate the operational and financial performance of the licensees and facilitate the provision of timely and reliable information and data on the electricity sector and regulated entities to consumers, stakeholders, and the public.

It can be recalled that the 2022 Edition of the Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) for Africa ranked the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission 10th out of 43 electricity regulators in Africa, compared to 37th out of 43 in the previous year.

The 2022 ERI report is the fifth edition, and it measures the level of development of electricity sector regulatory frameworks in African countries and the capacity of regulatory authorities to effectively carry out their relevant functions and duties. The ERI report covers 43 of the 45 countries with confirmed regulatory authorities in Africa. The ERI is made up of three pillars or sub-indices: 1) Regulatory Governance Index (RGI); 2) Regulatory Substance Index (RSI); and 3) Regulatory Outcome Index (ROI). The ERI was developed by the AfDB as a peer review mechanism for electricity regulators in Africa.