Afghanistan Energy Sector Improvement Program (ESIP)

Output 1 (Public Sector):

The overall objective of the Public Sector component of the ESIP is to improve cooperation between key actors in the Afghan energy sector at central and decentralized levels and to expand the conditions for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency through the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency policies, strategies, regulations (e.g., photovoltaic (PV) standards/PV minimum standards, energy efficiency labeling, feed-in tariffs).

The Public Sector component of the ESIP program has supported the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ESRA), one of the significant Afghan energy sector leading entities, in drafting the Net-metering regulation, which is due to be approved by the cabinet of Afghanistan in 2021. Net metering is a billing mechanism that enables utility customers to efficiently and cleanly generate their electricity. Most solar customers generate more power than they consume during the day; net metering enables them to export that power to the grid and reduce their future electricity bills. Additionally, Public Sector output has supported the ESRA employees with technical training relevant to solar design. As a result, ESRA has now completed feasibility studies of 9 solar governmental projects that sum up to 5MWp. The public sector output is actively supporting the ESRA to operationalize the Provincial Energy Committees (PECs) in all the provinces of Afghanistan, contributing to cooperation improvement between all energy sector actors. The PECs are forums for collaboration between stakeholders on provincial significance matters requiring the Provincial Government and/or National Government and Development Partners to implement an integrated and coherent national energy policy. It further addresses issues related to renewable energy generation, local distribution networks, Energy consumer affairs, Energy Efficiency (EE) measures, and affairs associated with private sector investments like land ownership, water user rights, and security issues. Consequently, as part of the Afghanistan Sustainable Energy Week (ASEW) program, the Public sector has raised awareness of 650 women on renewable energies and energy efficiency topics until the first quarter of 2021. The ASEW aims to raise awareness on renewable energy and energy efficiency topics to up to 3500 people by the

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end of 2021.

ESIP Afghanistan Overview

Energy Sector Improvement Program (ESIP) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The program aims at promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in Afghanistan by supporting the Afghan government in implementing strategies for the energy sector. ESIP succeeds the program Institutional Development for Energy in Afghanistan (IDEA), which ended in 2018. ESIP bases its interventions on lessons learnt under IDEA and put explicit focus on establishing a net-metering policy in Afghanistan, supporting the Afghanistan Renewable Energy Union (AREU) to promote private sector involvement in the renewable energy sector and deepening local technical know-how through anchoring a blended learning Masters study course at Afghan universities. Furthermore, ESIP will put mechanisms in place to encourage local economic growth in rural areas through renewable energy technologies.