28 March 2012: The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) has announced funding for two parts of the Tonga Energy Roadmap (TERM), a ten-year outline for energy market reform, laying out an approach and implementation plan to reduce Tonga’s vulnerability to oil price shocks, and improve access to modern energy services.

REEEP has committed to making specific recommendations on how institutions should be structured or adapted to realize the plan, and conducting a legislative review to determine which laws and regulations should be “tweaked,” and which need to be reformed. The proposal on structural arrangements that REEEP has submitted to the Tongan Government foresees an implementation unit (TERM IU) that will focus on two broad areas: the first around both on-grid and off-grid electricity generation; and the second around the petroleum industry, looking at supply chain and risk management.

As part of the legislative review, REEEP will draft a proposed Energy Reform Bill in the course of 2012. The framework will be consistent with two parallel processes, the Electricity Tariff Review and Petroleum Review, which will influence on the final package. [REEEP Press Release]