The African continent has secured $2.5 million in grants from the African Development Fund to support the regulatory environment in the electricity markets of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Common Market. Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The announcement was made by the African Development Bank (ADB).

Grants of $1.5 million for COMESA and $1 million for SADC will come from the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional financing window. “The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved grants of $2.5 million to advance intra-regional harmonization of electricity regulations and boost cross-border electricity trade in the COMESA and SADC regional blocks, which cover 28 African countries,” the bank said in a statement posted on its website. According to the African Institution, the projects will be implemented respectively by the Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa (RAERESA) and the Regional Association of Energy Regulators of Southern Africa ( RERA). Also, grants will fund technical assistance to promote the development and adoption of regional electricity regulatory principles, build capacity to monitor utility performance in the region, conduct cross-border electricity tariff analysis and develop a centralized database management system.