Luanda- The Proposal on amending the General Electricity Law, which aims to “revolutionize” the energy sector in the country, was approved on Wednesday, in Luanda, by the specialized committees of the National Assembly (AN).
The document, which was approved in general last November, today received a positive opinion from Members of the Parliament (MP) during a joint meeting of the 1st, 5th and 10th specialized working committees of the Angolan Parliament, respectively, on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Economy and Finance and Rights Human Resources, Petitions, Complaints and Citizen Suggestions.
The legal instrument aims to revolutionize the energy sector by opening space for private sector intervention, particularly in the field of energy transmission.
Among other changes, it aims to modernize the sector's legal framework and attract private investment for projects that promote environmental sustainability and economic growth.
When presenting the proposal, the Secretary of State for Energy, Arlindo Carlos, highlighted the scope of this Law, highlighting that it will discontinue the existing monopoly in the construction of energy transport infrastructure and open up the possibility of private sector participation in this domain.
According to the official, the change in the diploma contributes to accelerating the increase in the electrification rate in the country, currently at 44 percent, as well as allowing interconnection with systems in the region at the continent level.
“The figure of the single buyer of electricity, currently protected by the National Transport Network (RNT), which has the monopoly of system operator, market and concessionary entity for the transport of electricity, will be discontinued”, he stressed.
Arlindo Carlos reinforced that there will be no monopoly of private entities in the distribution of electricity, as a market operator will be created, a body that will join the already existing Water and Electricity Services Regulatory Institute (IRSAE).
The objective is to ensure, through regulations, that the State does not lose control over the production, transportation and distribution of this good.
Before the Secretary of State's clarifications, Eugénio Manuvakola, from UNITA, welcomed the specific amendment to the Electricity Law, considering that it will make the investments that have been made by the State in the sector profitable.
He hoped that energy prices for consumers would be equivalent to those practiced on the international market.
Corroborating the idea, Suzana de Melo, from the MPLA, said it was an opportune initiative, considering that it will expand the offer of this good to citizens and economic operators.
This legislative initiative is dictated by the need to adapt the electrical energy transmission activity to the State's relative reserve regime, in order to allow its exercise, under a public service concession regime, by legal entities governed by private law.
The revision is part of a set of priorities for the sector, which include the expansion of energy transmission and distribution networks to integrate new provinces and regions into the country's electricity system.
The goal, according to the Executive, is to ensure that millions of Angolans have access to sustainable and affordable energy, expanding the reach of energy infrastructure to remote and disadvantaged areas.
The proposal aims to introduce specific changes in three articles (3rd, 9th and 10th) of Law no. 14/96, of 31 May - General Electricity Law, and the addition of a new article.
Also, on Wednesday, parliamentarians from the Constitutional and Legal Affairs, State Administration and Local Government and Human Rights, Petitions, Complaints and Citizens' Suggestions committees considered and approved the Ombudsman's Draft Law.
This draft law aims to conform its organic and functional framework to the need to adapt the current regime of organization and operation of the Ombudsman's Office to the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, in view of the constitutional revision introduced by Law 18/21, of 16 August.
The initiative also aims at changes in the scope of the redefinition of the support services to the Ombudsman, the creation of offices and directorates, namely, communication and institutional press, protocol and public relations, exchange and cooperation directorate, as well as a department for monitoring the recommendations of the Ombudsman, in order to respond to the Strategic Plan of this body, in general, and to the Ombudsman's communication plan.
The proposal also introduces a change in the current wording of the Ombudsman's staff regime, proposing that a specific system and statute be applied and, in the alternative, the regime of the civil service and entities of a procedural and inspection nature, providing for a statute for the ombudsman's official, to be approved in a specific diploma. ACC/VC/DOJ
