"We cannot guarantee that the new electricity
law will reduce costs but we can expect the supply of electricity to be
more efficient. It is more often than not to do with inefficiency that
electricity rates are so high in Somaliland," Suleiman Mohamed, head of
USAID partnership programme, told IPS.
But Dualeh said that the new electricity regulations "will support
more efficient distribution, enhanced safety in the sector and higher
levels of investment from the private sector, as they will have greater
confidence in the energy market."
Wind power in Somaliland is also rapidly emerging as a promising
alternative source of energy. The government has realised that the
potential for renewable sources of energy should be exploited to help
revitalise the region's power supply and provide a cost-effective
alternative.
"We must seriously look at sources of renewable energy such as solar
and wind power, especially when Somaliland has over 340 days of sun and
some of the fastest wind in the world," says Dualeh.
To confront Somaliland's ongoing energy crisis, with the support of
USAID the Ministry of Mining, Energy and Water Resources has erected
five turbines worth over 350,000 dollars on a wind farm pilot project
near the Hargeisa International Airport. Wind data stations have also
been installed across the country, to offer investors information about
wind power potential.
Somaliland's independent power providers are also learning about the economic benefits of generating renewable energy.
The Abaarso Tech Secondary School in Hargeisa had a wind turbine in
their storage room for nearly three years before finally setting it up
in January 2012. Once fully operational, the 20 kW turbine provided
enough electricity to run the high school. The city government
subsequently came up with an income-generating plan for the school to
sell the surplus electricity it generated to neighbouring villagers.
In the long term, harnessing alternative energy solutions such as
wind power should have higher returns for consumers and providers than
using diesel would.
"We just spent 240,000 dollars on new diesel generators. After seeing
the projected returns for wind energy, I wish we could have spent that
money on wind turbines and saved on diesel costs. Diesel is the past,
wind is the future," Yusuf Aaaden, a local Hargeisa independent power
producer, told IPS.