Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, His Royal Highness Prince Lonkhokhela, has emphasised the need to strengthen regional transmission lines to facilitate electricity trade across Southern Africa.
He also highlighted the importance of addressing high tariffs and exploring tariff harmonisation to support sustainable energy solutions in the region.
Prince Lonkhokhela made the remarks during a Ministerial Roundtable held on the margins of the 2026 SADC Sustainable Energy Week in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The roundtable brought together energy ministers and senior officials from across the region to deliberate on improving cross-border energy cooperation.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, the roundtable was held under the theme, “Future of Energy Trading and Transmission in Southern Africa”. Discussions focused on strengthening regional integration, enhancing transmission infrastructure and creating a more efficient and competitive electricity market.
The Minister shared Eswatini’s progress in reforming its energy sector, particularly measures aimed at enabling private sector participation in power generation. He highlighted the implementation of the embedded generation framework, which allows independent producers to generate electricity and supply it directly to consumers or feed surplus power into the national grid.
Prince Lonkhokhela noted that reinforcing transmission networks is critical to unlocking the full potential of regional power trade. Stronger interconnections, he said, would allow countries to import electricity during periods of shortage and export surplus supply when available, thereby improving energy security and reducing costs.
He further stressed that high electricity tariffs remain a challenge for many countries in Southern Africa. Harmonising tariffs, where feasible, could help create a more predictable and attractive investment environment while ensuring affordability for consumers.
The Minister’s participation forms part of broader regional efforts to achieve universal access to electricity and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy systems. The engagements at the 2026 SADC Sustainable Energy Week are expected to inform policy direction and strengthen collaboration among member states in pursuit of a resilient and integrated regional energy market.
