Kenya and Senegal have emerged as Africa’s top energy regulators, tying for first place in the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) with a remarkable score of 0.892 – a signal achievement in a continent-wide push for better energy governance, climate resilience, and sustainable development.
Unveiled during the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town on June 20, the ERI’s seventh edition shows Kenya soaring from fifth place in 2022 to joint leadership with Senegal. Notably, Kenya recorded the highest global score in Regulatory Outcomes (ROI) at 0.854, a 59% improvement over 2022, demonstrating that its recent reforms are translating into real-world impacts for consumers and utilities alike.
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The ERI tracks the performance of 43 African nations across three key areas: Regulatory Governance, Regulatory Substance, and Regulatory Outcomes. The 2024 results suggest a broader continental shift: 41 countries now score above the 0.5 threshold, and Africa’s average score has climbed to 0.668, up from 0.495 just two years ago.
For Kenya, this regulatory leap is grounded in long-term institutional reform. Following the enactment of the Energy Act of 2019, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has spearheaded improvements in tariff transparency, licensing, digital consumer services, and the integration of clean technologies—including battery storage, green hydrogen, and electric mobility. These changes have laid the foundation for not only more reliable electricity access, but for an energy transition aligned with Kenya’s climate commitments and development goals.
Kenya’s electricity mix already leans heavily on renewable energy, especially geothermal, wind, and increasingly solar. With the ERI confirming that robust regulation drives better performance, Kenya’s experience suggests that effective policy frameworks are just as critical as natural resource endowments in powering the energy transition.
The report also expands its lens to regional energy dynamics. For the first time, the AfDB assessed regional regulatory bodies such as EREA (Eastern Africa) and RAERESA (Eastern and Southern Africa), acknowledging their role in standard-setting and promoting cross-border electricity trade. Kenya’s hosting of a recent ERI validation workshop further signals its emergence as a convener of peer learning and continental collaboration in the energy sector.
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The rise of Kenya and Senegal stands in sharp contrast to countries at the bottom of the index—Sao Tome, Congo, Gabon, and Djibouti – whose weak regulatory frameworks have hindered progress despite energy potential. Importantly, this year’s ERI shows that even the lowest-ranked countries saw significant improvements, with scores rising from just 0.10 in 2022 to over 0.33 in 2024, evidence that regulatory transformation is possible across the board.
Beyond Kenya and Senegal, the index highlights a broader East African momentum: Uganda, Namibia, Tanzania, Liberia, and Niger joined the top five. This geographic spread suggests a pan-African reform wave, bolstered by AfDB’s strategic investments: between 2016 and 2025, the Bank has invested $12.7 billion in electricity access, reaching 28 million Africans through projects spanning transmission, off-grid solutions, and generation infrastructure.
Despite these successes, challenges remain. The ERI warns that achieving full impact depends on further strengthening regulatory independence, ensuring cost-reflective tariffs, and better integrating mini-grids and off-grid electrification, especially in rural and peri-urban zones where reliability and affordability gaps persist. For Kenya, this means consolidating gains while making sure that frontier communities aren’t left behind as the energy transition accelerates.
What makes the achievements of Kenya and Senegal so instructive is their demonstration that regulatory reform can be the linchpin of sustainable development. Kenya’s ability to balance fair pricing with investor confidence is attracting climate-aligned capital into solar mini-grids and battery storage. Senegal, on the other hand, is positioning itself as a West African hub for hydro, solar, and biomass integration.
As the continent eyes a future powered by renewables, climate resilience, and digital energy systems, the 2024 ERI serves as a timely reminder: regulation matters. It is regulation that transforms infrastructure into service, policy into progress, and ambition into access.
In an age of futuristic energy headlines, hypersonic platforms, AI-integrated smart grids, green hydrogen corridors, Africa’s truest energy revolution lies in something more foundational: governance that works an; Kenya and Senegal have shown what that looks like. They’ve not only led the rankings. They’ve laid down a challenge.
