House of Representatives Adopts Three Government Bills on Electricity and Independent Administrators in Public Enterprises
The House of Representatives adopted by a majority of votes on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, three Government bills on electricity and independent administrators in public enterprises. The adoption occurred during a legislative plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, in the presence of the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ms. Leila Benali.
During the sitting, the House of Representatives adopted by a majority of votes Government Bill 82.21 on the self-production of electricity in a second reading. The Bill was elaborated following the strategic energy orientations in respect of the recommendations of the New Development Model related to developing the decentralized production of electricity, ameliorating the competitiveness of the electricity sector, and facilitating the administrative procedures and processes.
The Bill addresses the challenges to the self-production of electricity, mainly the legal vacuum, the existence of unregulated energy production plants, and the impossibility of self-production of electricity outside the grid of the National Office of Electricity and Potable Water (ONEE). The Bill also aims to regulate electricity production for personal use regardless of the production source while ensuring the safety and security of the national electricity grid and guaranteeing compliance with transparency and non-discrimination between stakeholders.
During the same sitting, the Representatives adopted by a majority of votes Government Bill 40.19 amending and supplementing Law 13.09 on renewable energies and Law 48.15 on the regulation of the electricity sector and creation of the National Authority for Electricity Regulation, in a second reading. The Bill follows the orienting principles of the Kingdom as renewable energies are a cornerstone of the national energy strategy launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2009 so that renewable energies would form more than 52% of generated electricity by 2030.
The Bill also aims to ameliorate the business climate, enhance transparency, facilitate access to information related to investment opportunities, improve the attractiveness of the renewable energies sector for private national and foreign investment, reinforce the safety and flexibility of the national electricity system, and consolidate the national enterprise fabric in terms of renewable energies technologies and industries.
Later, the Representatives adopted by a majority of votes Government Bill 40.22 on the determination of the number of independent administrators and defining the conditions and procedure of their appointment within consultative bodies of public enterprises. The Bill constitutes a major brick in reinforcing the legal and institutional arsenal for reforming the sector of public institutions and enterprises.
The adopted Bill aims to advance the governance of public enterprises by improving the professionalism of their consultative bodies, hence enhancing their efficiency in implementing the plans of said enterprises. The Bill also aims to ensure the achievement of efficiency goals, improve the quality of services, and consolidate result-based management.
The adoption of the Bill would contribute to enhancing the efficiency of consultative bodies within public enterprises by defining the conditions and criteria for appointing independent administrators based on the qualifications and competencies required for performing such a mission within said bodies, consolidating the independence and responsibility of consultative bodies by implementing a special and transparent procedure for appointment of independent administrators, and putting in place mechanisms for incentives and orientation by defining a remuneration system based on active participation in the meetings of the consultative body and its committees, under the form of fixed annual remuneration.