How should businesses, governments, and investors build, finance, and sustain critical power infrastructure across the increasingly interconnected markets of East, Central, and Southern Africa (“the region”)? An increasing demand for the same calls for the evolution of new delivery and scaling models, for instance, innovative energy solutions, utility reforms, sustainable electrification, transmission grid expansion, and enabling national policies. However, all these models are subject to an indispensable legal foundation, which this article will examine by drawing on existing infrastructure models while mapping any legal gaps the new models must bridge.
In the region, power delivery is effected by state-owned utilities, which operate within their respective national silos, i.e., Kenya Power Limited Company (KPLC), Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO), and Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO), among others. While all these utilities oversee the established grid infrastructure with government support, they face limitations, including financial discrepancies due to below-cost tariffs, transmission losses, and constrained balance sheets, which prevent the mobilisation the region requires. Therefore, there is a need for the evolution of new delivery and scaling models, and notable cross-border interconnections exist proving the same is achievable, such as the Ethiopia-Kenya 2,000 MW transmission line, which is a regulatory and contractual example of multi-sovereign energy arrangements.
Presently, the region experiences a mismatch between national infrastructure frameworks and regional energy demand. Businesses and communities across interconnected markets increasingly require reliable and competitively priced power, which cannot be guaranteed by a single national utility. Consequently, introduction of new models such as mini grids, distributed renewable generation, hybrid systems, regional power pool trading platforms, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), structured grid expansion are expected to address this gap by decentralising delivery, diversifying financing, and bridging the incompatibility across the different jurisdictions. This is evidenced by the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya (ZTK) interconnector, a link between different power pools designed to connect the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) with the East African Power Pool (EAPP), thereby creating a unified electricity market across Africa.
Moving on to the big question: will this evolution actually deliver? The new models demonstrably improve access, as off-grid solar and mini-grids have connected several households beyond the economic reach of the central grid. Moreover, regional transmission grids enable least-cost dispatch across the pool, reducing costs system-wide. Additionally, national policies which attract Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and codify renewable energy targets accelerate investment in the region. Therefore, the evolution does deliver, with its only stumbling block being the legal infrastructure, which often fails to keep up with the technical ambition.
The EAPP and the SAPP provide the institutional architecture for regional energy cooperation. SAPP, which is linked to the SADC treaty framework, is seen to be the more advanced model, treaty-linked with high enforcement credibility. EAPP, by contrast, is in a pilot phase, with its Independent Regulatory Board only recently constituted and operating on a basis of voluntary compliance. It is only in February 2026, when both bodies signed a landmark MoU in Harare, committing to alignment of technical standards and regulatory systems, with one of the MoU’s objectives being integration of the regional power infrastructure, including collaboration on Cross-Border Electricity trading protocols and development of infrastructure standards. However, while this is a meaningful milestone, it should be treated as a floor, rather than a ceiling, as it falls short of the enforceable harmonisation.
With the evolution towards decentralising delivery, countries in the region are broadly divided into two categories: those with mature frameworks and those actively reforming. Kenya leads the former group, whereby its Energy Act, 2019, gives the sector regulator, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), clear authority over licensing and market conduct. On the other hand, the Public Private Partnerships Act (PPP Act), 2021, is now being used to structure real transactions, including privately initiated proposals. This is a significant development, as it could open Kenya’s power grid, which has historically been a purely public-sector domain, to private capital at scale for the first time.
Rwanda similarly offers a predictable, investor-friendly environment backed by clear renewable energy targets. Among reformers, Zambia and Tanzania are separating their state utilities into distinct generation, transmission, and distribution entities to create transparency and attract private investment into each segment individually, though implementation remains a work in progress. Uganda’s regulatory framework, anchored in legislation from 1999, was progressive for its time but is increasingly being tested by the complexity of modern cross-border project structures and regional power pool arrangements it was never designed to accommodate. While these national reforms create an avenue for investment, the cross-border nature of these new models necessitates a layer of international protection. To this end, Bilateral Investment Treaties between capital-exporting states and EAPP/SAPP member states provide a baseline of investor protection, including access to regional dispute-resolution mechanisms.
In conclusion, it is important to note that the rapid evolution in energy delivery is outpacing the legal frameworks designed to support it. The Harare MoU between EAPP and SAPP is a great starting point, but a binding treaty status, with real enforcement powers, remains the necessary destination. Alongside this, standardising PPAs, grid connection, and wheeling agreement templates across EAPP member states would make projects cheaper to structure and easier to finance, while drawing on the more developed contractual models that SAPP has already established. Kenya’s PPP Act, 2021, currently being tested through privately-initiated transmission proposals, offers a practical and replicable model for other countries in the region that are still working out how to bring private capital into their infrastructure frameworks. Ultimately, while technical innovation and the ZTK interconnector lays the idea for regional integration, the execution remains the legal architecture. To move from pilot phases to a truly unified electricity market, the region must shift from voluntary MoUs to binding treaty obligations. By harmonising national legislation with regional investment protocols, East, Central, and Southern Africa can transform from a collection of national silos into a bankable, interconnected energy powerhouse. In this evolution, the law is not merely a formality; rather, it is the essential infrastructure for growth.