Author(s)

Toussaint Armel Bakala

Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM)—Faculty of Economic Sciences, National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, The Republic of Congo.

This paper makes an analytical assessment and draws lessons from the reforms of the electric energy sector in the Republic of Congo. Focused on the complete opening of the market and the establishment of a regulatory agency since the beginning of the 2000s, the reforms of the electricity sector in the Republic of Congo are not producing the expected results. The reasons for this failure come, among other things, from the fact that these reforms do not take into account the size of the market which is a crucial factor likely to influence the capacity and options of the reforms undertaken. Moreover, the simulations on the size of the market, in our mathematical model, confirm this intuition: the size of the electricity market in the Republic of Congo is too small to be embarked on the path of increased competition. Also, the regulatory agency created has neither the material and financial resources nor the autonomy necessary to fulfill the missions assigned to it and support the sector in optimal organization and an optimal pricing system.

Reforms, Electricity, Competition, Regulation, Congo

Bakala, T. (2023) Economic Theory and Reforms of the Electrical Energy Sector in the Republic of Congo: What Lessons?. Modern Economy, 14, 1439-1458. doi: 10.4236/me.2023.1410075.