Assessment of Electricity Industries in SADC Region Energy Diversification and Sustainability

Article history: Received: 24 October, 2020 Accepted: 11 March, 2021 Online: 10 April, 2021 Before the COVID-19 crisis, the Southern African Developing Countries (SADC) had a varied energy mix including renewable energy, fossil fuels, and military energy production. The use of fossil fuels in the energy mix is known to be the source of the growing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, there was a reduction in GHG emissions following the pandemic, which reduced travel and trade, and worldwide disruption in economic activities. The priority of priority B in the 2015-2020 Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan, which is Energy, continues. As a result, the availability of affordable and renewable energy is still a priority for south of the equator countries and their growth agenda. This paper is aimed at exploring the sustainability of SADC countries’ electricity sectors by using three sustainability pillars: Social, Environmental and Economic (SEE). SEE offers the main concepts of renewable energy, in a way that is socially, environmentally appropriate and economically viable. Study shows a gap in access rate in SADC countries with only Mauritius and Seychelles reaching 100% access to modern energy services (electricity) for both rural and urban areas. Currently all the member countries have set their RE goals for the year 2030. However, the subsidies by SADC member countries indicate that they are practiced as a way to make electricity affordable, and also to make electricity available to lower income households. In the period 2014-2017, big national budget deficits happened in various Southern African countries because of subsidies. Thus, this paper is of crucial importance to the foundational advancement of sustainable electricity sector growth in the country. The findings of this paper play a crucial role in helping and guiding politicians to better understand the existing and challenges future in the energy market and alternatives to address these problems. Additional research is given on how to arrive at sustainable decisions for the electricity sector in the region.


Introduction
This paper is an extension of work originally presented at the IEEE 2nd conference on renewable energy and power engineering [1]. In the past decade, the electricity industry has expanded rapidly with greenhouse gas emissions (see fig.1). As the economy is rising, carbon dioxide emissions are increasing in proportion to increasing energy demand, industry and access. Electricity is now the number one contributor to greenhouse gases around the globe due to reliance on hydrocarbon (fossil) fuels such as coal, diesel, and gas [2,3]. There is currently a global concern about environmental impacts due to countless provocations emanating from rapid and extremely precarious demand for energy resulting from population increase, decreased reserves of fossil fuel, ASTESJ ISSN: 2415-6698 Figure 1: Globe Energy Related CO2 Emission,1900-2020 [2,7] economic activities and high volatile fossil fuel [4,5]. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the new trend [6], there will be a decrease in GHG emissions, foreign travel disruptions and economic activities. The electricity sector therefore faces difficulties, both politically and socially, in fostering sustainability.
The most pressing global challenge is the effort to guide the energy industry's future growth in a way that guarantees secure, sustainable, and sufficient access to electricity while being environmentally and socially appropriate as well. But the solutions presented must be commercially viable and must be combined with solutions from the real world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, this is needed in order to resolve numerous pressing energy challenges. [8,9] Technologies for the generation of low-carbon electricity such as geothermal, solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines (WT), concentrated solar power (CSP), , biomass energy, and hydroelectric are rapidly recognized as crucial for a renewable electricity industry.
"The ultimate aim of SADC states (2016) is to "ensure that sufficient, effective, low-cost energy supplies are made available to help achieve economic efficiency and eliminate poverty while maintaining the efficient usage of energy resources (1997) [10]. The SADC member states have set up several subsidiary bodies to undertake energy related programs and initiatives in order to promote the harmonization of the energy sector. These numerous organizations include the SADC Center for Clean Energy and Energy Conservation, the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and the Southern African Regional Electricity Regulators Association (SARERA). These subsidiary organizations manage electricity planning, generation, delivery and marketing, as well as helping to harmonize regulatory policies [11].
The current RISDP 2015-2020 Priority B, provides guidelines on ensuring that regional and national strategies are compatible with the stability, sustainability, and efficiency of the region's energy market, with Member Countries working together to study and improve low-cost energy technology and energy sources for the region [10,11]. With regard to the supply of electricity that is secure and affordable, Southern African countries Development Community considers energy access as a very important development priority. This paper presents a comparative assessment of the SADC countries' electricity industry sustainability using the energy approach of Four (4) Aspects of Electricity (4EA's) which is based on sustainability criteria and indicators. The method was adopted on the basis of claims that it would stick to the four aspects belonging to 4EAs for any energy scheme to be viable. The four aspects of a comprehensive electricity industry assessment in the SADC region are grouped into sixteen (16) indicators. These indicators are linked to the performance of the electricity industry in terms of social and environmental including economical and technical performance. The 4EAs approach includes; Affordability, Accessibility, Availability and Acceptability of electricity sector in the SADC member countries [12]. The methodology of the 4EA discusses the three main sustainability pillars; societal, economic and environmental influences [13]. In particular, these pillars are major principles to achieve electricity sustainability in a way that is technically and economically viable plus a more socially and environmentally acceptable and appropriate for sustainable electricity sectors.
An appropriate quantitative and qualitative indicators and criteria were drawn up for the SADC electricity industry in the evaluation of the SADC Member State electricity sector. The findings of the electricity sector sustainability assessment in the SADC countries will therefore play an essential role to provide a basis to guide and assist policy-makers. The findings will help policy makers have a better understanding of the current and future challenges that arise in the SADC regional electricity industry and by providing alternatives to address them [14]. This will also assist in the development of an informed investment strategy and decisions to achieve resilience in the region's electricity market.

Electricity Industries Sustainability Assessment in the SADC Region
The electricity sector in the SADC region, similarly to other parts of sub-Saharan African, faces numerous energy security related challenges due to rapid energy demand growth, reduced accessibility to energy because of grid lower coverage, high reliance on fossil fuels due to greenhouse gas emissions, leading to environmental and social impacts. Therefore, the SADC region is facing two (2) main energy policy challenges; lower access levels to electricity which are estimated at 48%, with 32% rural and 75% urban (see Table 5), and energy security issues because of dependence on fossil fuels or only single (one) source of energy in the national energy mix [11]. IEA defines energy security as "uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price" (2019). It can be categorized into two (2) major aspects, short and long-term. The long term aims at making timely investments in the energy system without compromising the environment in meeting economic development. However, the short-term primarily deals with the current energy supply system's ability to meet energy demand sudden changes [15]. Sustainability of energy is one of the key issues in the energy sector because of its strong links to social, economic, and environmental aspects [16]. The effect of access to affordable, reliable, and clean electricity is measured to improve the standard of human well-being. Economic aspects; represents the impact that the energy availability may have on economic growth and development prospects of any society or nation. The research conducted by Bengt [2013], highlighted that access to affordable, reliable and clean modern energy services, (e.g. electricity), is essential for the alleviation of poverty and economic development in developing countries [17]. The impact on energy systems that contribute to the environment as a whole is reflected in Environmental Sustainability. Thus, the current main drivers of environmental challenges such as greenhouse gas emission including climate change across the globe are energy systems based on fossil fuels. Therefore, the use of non-renewable energy sources in the energy mix poses a higher risk to natural environmental sustainability as compared to the use of renewable energy sources.
The 4EA sustainability indicators and criteria adopted for assessing the sustainability of the performance of the electricity industry in SADC member states are illustrated in table 1 below.

SADC Socio-Economic Development
The SADC consists of sixteen (16) member countries, including, as new Member States, Botswana Angola,, Lesotho, the DRC Congo (DRC), Malawi, Madagascar., Eswatini, Mauritius, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. Approximately 33 percent of Sub-Saharan African population belongs to SADC region. The area has a projected 1.9 percent annual population growth. The area has seen an increase in urbanization in recent decades, for example in the period between 2013 and 2017, with the region seeing an increase in urban population share raising to 46% in 2017 from 35% in 2013. However, there exist a differences in the size and complexity of the gross domestic product (GDP) between SADC member states, with the lowest of US$1.498 billion (Seychelles) and highest of US$349.3 billion (South Africa) (check Table 2). This is the same with the GDP per capita, with ranges of US$800 (Malawi) to US$29300 per capita (Seychelles). However, on the overall, there is decline experienced by the SADC region in GDP per capita annual growth because of a drop in commodity prices on the international market (worldwide) including droughts that caused electricity deficit in industrial and agricultural production [16]. There are also large differences in member countries' economic and social growth profiles in the region. The SADC member countries are classified into three categories, lower, medium and high according to United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI in the region ranges between 0.418 (Mozambique) and 0.782 (Seychelles), with nine Member States below 0.50, four between 0.50 and 0.70 and only two above 0.70 (see Table 2 [11].

SADC Share of Electricity Industry
As of 2018, the overall installed capacity of the SADC region was estimated at more than 61,859 GW, with 59,539 GW of installed capacity and 54,397 GW of operational capacity for SAPP Member States alone. Regional electricity demand growth is expected at an average rate of between 3 percent and 6 percent annually, in line with economic growth [20]. Complete electricity demand forecasts from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2015) indicate that demand in the SADC region is projected to double from 280 TWh (2010) to 570 TWh (2030) by 2030 (see Fig.2) owing to numerous activities such as strong economic growth, demographic growth, urbanization and industry production in the region [21,22]. The demand for energy will continue to outpace production, with real costs, unless SADC countries raise cooperation with each other. Electricity will remain high and SADC's aspirations for wide-scale industrialization will continue to be suppressed by an inadequate supply of available electricity at fair prices.
In the region, however, generation capacity and installed power grids are limited; thus, electricity supply has lagged behind demand growth from 2007 until 2018, when the SADC region experienced excess energy supply as the result of the commissioning of the new energy projects [23]. In most SADC member states, this delay in the supply demand balance has resulted in a complex and persistent electricity shortage. Moreover, even in some highly hydroelectricity dependent SADC Member States due to climate change that has triggered droughts in recent years, the presence of a grid link has not guaranteed access to electricity for the end user, or even would be used by consumers due to prolonged load shedding, brownout and power cuts [24]. The SADC region's level of access to modern energy resources remained lower, with the total level of access to electricity as of 2017 being approximately 48% with 32% for rural and 75% urban areas (checkTable.5). The zone, however, aims to boost levels from the current level to 85.5 percent by 2030 [11].

SADC CO2 Emission
While Africa contributes little to global CO2 emissions overall, with many countries contributing almost zero, South Africa, by comparison, is the fourteenth largest CO2 emitter in the world. Tackling climate issues and related problems in the SADC region is obviously closely linked to tackling South Africa's and SADC's dependency on coal. At the 2016 Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change in Paris, countries committed to reducing emissions by individual pledges in a collective effort to minimize global emission levels. Such obligations are known as nationally specified contributions (NDCs). Although the SADC does not have a detailed shared strategy on how to achieve NDC targets at regional level, organized discussions on how to define and formulate national targets were conducted in the lead-up to COP 21. And the SADC Regional Infrastructure Growth Master Plan 2012 sets out the target to increase renewable energy share in the grid to 39% by 2030 from the current 29% and reaching an off-grid share of 7.5% by 2030 [11,20].Almost 85.7% of the electricity produced in the SADC region comes from coal-fired thermal power plants, posing a high health risk and rising the region's greenhouse gas emissions. Despite contributing fewer greenhouse gas emissions in the region, which was around 2.2 percent of global emissions in 2011, some SADC Member States, such as South Africa, have remained higher greenhouse gas emitters with 13th place in the world ranking. South Africa alone accounted for 48% of the carbon dioxide released in the SADC region in 2016 (see table 2) [11].

Energy Sector Sustainability Evaluation of SADC
Countries based on 4EAs

Electricity Acceptability
In terms of social and environmental acceptability, electricity generation technologies cause various and numerous environmental and social impacts such as visual impacts, land use and degradation, fugitive dust, noise, soil and air pollution including greenhouse gas emission which is the most serious threats to both the environment and society arising from present electricity industry. These impacts pose different policy challenges and there is no one straightforward solution. Hence, this dimension reflects environmental and social acceptability of the electricity sector by society and environmental organizations based on national energy mix. According to WEC(2007), the best alternative to attain environmental sustainability and increase social acceptability is by reducing greenhouse gas emission through adopting of low-carbon renewable energy technologies in the national energy mix [16]. Thus, an electricity generation mix with combination of various sources from low-carbon technologies is expected to increase social and environmental acceptability. Therefore, to assess the acceptability of SADC countries' electricity industry the following criteria have been considered; RE share in electricity production (%), emission of CO2 per capital (t CO2/capital ), country's CO2 emission and Policies on Renewable energy technologies.  Figure 4 shows the emissions of CO2 per capita in the SADC countries as of 2015. The results indicate that, except for South Africa, the region's member countries have lower emissions of CO2 per capita, mainly because of higher dependence on fossil fuels (coal) in the electricity sector. Therefore, South Africa (SA) has the highest per capita emissions (8,98 tonnes of CO2) in the country, followed by Seychelles (5,42 tonnes of CO2) with the lowest value of 0,06 tonnes of CO2 in DRC [27]. This makes SA, as previously mentioned, the largest contributor and emitter of CO2 emissions in the SADC region. South Africa draws 85% of its energy from fossil fuels at the same time contributes more than 76% to the final electricity generation in the SADC region, hence contributing to nearly half of the region's CO2 emissions [27].

2) Policies on Renewable energy technologies
As seen in Table 8, it appears that all SADC member states have progressed towards the establishment of RE technology national and regional policies. These policies, however, differ according to the priorities and objectives of the country set in the national energy master plans. Figure 5 shows the renewable energy (RE) share in the electricity generation in member states of SADC. It can be seen that due to the high use of hydro for electricity generation, DRC shows a highest share of RE of 92.87 percent in the final national general electricity generation mix, with the lowest share of 1.03 percent shown by Seychelles because of its reliance on fossil fuels. In general, the shares of RE in the final energy generation mix have increased in the region and member countries (see table 4).

4) SADC Countries CO2 Emission Per Year
Most SADC member countries have low CO2 emissions because the overall generation of electricity is highly dependent on renewable energy. Nonetheless, few Member States such as South Africa, Botswana, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Namibia are heavily dependent on fossil fuels with less than 50% share of RE in the final electricity generation mix. Therefore, in terms of the total contribution of CO2 emissions to the region, South Africa is at the top of the group, followed by Angola, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Seychelles at the very least (see table 2 above).

Electricity Accessibility
This dimension underlines society's accessibility to modern energy facilities, both now and in the future, in a sustainable way for everyone. Access to electricity can have multiple social impacts, including enhancing human well-being by meeting the basic needs of human being, such as entertainment, gender equality, food, education, clean water and health [14]. Moreover, accessibility to energy services will also help to reduce the effects on the environment, such as deforestation. Therefore, the idea of efficiency, quality and easy access to energy services to society poses a policy challenge. Societies must clearly have easy accessibility to critical energy resources, but services must be efficient and of high quality. A comparative study is also conducted in this dimension to determine the accessibility of electricity in the SADC countries, as well as the possible access goals. In this dimension, three parameters are taken into account: electricity intensity (kWh/GDP) and electricity consumption per capital (kWh/capital), existing levels of electrification and potential access targets for connectivity and electricity Disruption Risk Index [28] to assess the efficiency and quality of services. Figure 6 shows the energy consumption per capita in member states as of 2017. In general, electricity consumption per capita in most SADC countries is low below the average value of the region (993.84 kWh/ capita), with the exception of Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa, with more than 2000 kWh per capita. Electricity consumption per capita varies significantly, with the smallest being 66.42kWh per capita for Madagascar and the highest of 4234.36kWh per capita for South Africa.  Figure 7 shows the energy intensity (kWh per US$) in member states. With Mauritius, Botswana, Seychelles and Namibia having the lowest because of higher GDP due to lower population with Zimbabwe, Madagascar and DRC having the highest energy intensity among the member countries. This means that growth in electricity demand is far below economic growth in most member countries. Hence, this shows that there is less modern energy services accessibility including lower penetration and utilization of electrical appliances and equipment in the region and in the member States.  Table 5 shows the electricity accessibility in SADC member states and the potential goals for access to electricity as set in the Member States' national energy master plans to be achieved by 2030. As of now, with the exception of a few countries like: Botswana, South Africa, Eswatini, and Namibia that are above 50%, the country and several Member States have lower access levels to electricity. The only two member countries that are now able to have 100% access to electricity are Mauritius and Seychelles. For most member countries, however, urban electrification levels are above 60 percent, with only Malawi having the lowest 42 percent. Nevertheless, with the exception of Mauritius and Seychelles, which have already crossed 100 percent, rural electrification levels are still lower in most member countries. Rural electrification should therefore be listed as a priority area for the SADC region and its member countries in order to achieve this aim.

Electricity Availability
Electricity reliability and supply continuity are very vital for the social and economic development of every community, society or country. In order to achieve the social and economic well-being of every community and country, electricity plays an important role. However, there are different issues that can cause short-term and long-term unreliability and electricity discontinuity. These vary from nation to nation, but it's very similar and popular in the SADC member states. The causes maybe due to insufficient electricity generating units, insufficient transmission lines to transport electricity generated to demand centers, inadequate demand-compliant generating units, poor maintenance of transmission networks or generating power station, weak electricity systems to withstand disruptions and contingencies. For example, severe weather conditions such as low precipitation (droughts) and potential availability of primary energy sources such as fossil fuels may be other factors [16]. However, it is argued, according to the [16] literature, that a well-diversified energy generation industry comprising of different types of local primary energy sources, including reliable generation technologies, is capable of helping to improve energy security and to reduce the risks that may arise from high and volatile fluctuations in fuel prices.
Therefore, the use of available local resources in the generation of electricity is important. Furthermore, timely and adequate investment in the electricity sector is essential to ensure the reliability and continuity of the supply of electricity [17]. This dimension examines the energy security of the SADC countries with regard to the short and long-term reliability and continuity of the supply of electricity by meeting four of the following availability indicators and criteria: the reserve margin of the supply of electricity, the efficiency of the supply of electricity, the diversification of the supply of electricity, the sufficiency of the self-supply of electricity (SSR).

1) Efficiency of Electricity Supply (ESE) in SADC Countries
The ESE is described as " the ratio of electricity not lost(ENL) to the total supply of electricity (TES)" [28]. This indicator shows the overall output of the country. The estimate was made using Equation 1 (1a to 1d). As given below, the general equation is expressed as. (1d) where, "EC" denotes consumption of electricity, IE-import of electricity, EP-output of electricity, EXE-export of electricity. Figure 8 below shows the output of SADC countries in terms of electricity supply reliability. The results show that among the member countries, the lowest ESE is shown by Tanzania whereas highest ESE is shown by Eswatini. In other words, with the exception of Eswatini, the majority of SADC countries have an ESE of less than 95%. This shows that the general electricity industry faces problems with electricity losses in most of the member countries. This may be due to theft of electricity or losses in the grid due to long grid distances or inadequate maintenance.

2) Electricity Supply Diversification of SADC Countries
Using the Shannon Wiener Index given in equation 2 [5,29], the diversification of electricity supply is calculated. (2) In the equation "si" represents the portion of each energy source in the electricity generation mix, "I and n" is the number of main energy sources in the electricity generation mix. When the equal share (1/n) of all energy sources contributes to the final electricity generation mix, the maximum "Ln(n)" occurs. In terms of electricity supply diversification, the higher the value means higher energy resilience and security. Hence, lower risk for the electricity industry (see Fig.9). The findings show that diversification in the SADC countries' electricity industry varies widely, with highest in Eswatini and lowest in Botswana. However, Table 7 below shows that all SADC member states have put in place plans for the diversification of the local mix of electricity production by 2030. Hence, it is expected that the future of SADC electricity industry of the Member States will be more diversified. However, the energy security and accessibility will be strengthened only if all Member States follow and meet their planned targets. Nonetheless, fossil fuels (natural gas and coal) which are readily available locally are expected to continue playing a major role in the region's energy generation mix.

3) Self-Supply Sufficiency Rate of SADC Countries
For each member state, the Self-Supply Sufficiency Rate (SSR) in the national electricity sector was assessed using equations 3a-d [28] to determine the energy diversification impact on the SADC member countries' electricity sector. This deminsulation tests the capability of the SADC countries' electricity sector to meet the current demand with local generation. Consequently, greater the value or equal to 100% represents that the nation is self-sufficient, while less than 100% means that the country is dependent on the energy it imports. General equation 3a. (3d) Where "NIE" denotes the net electricity imports whereas "TDES" is the total electricity generation. In terms of sustainability, the country with higher SSR value have higher energy security hence lower the risk due to lower dependency on the imports of electricity (see fig.10 ). The results shows that the majority of the SADC countries are self-sufficient in the electricity supply with only handful of countries facing challenges.

4) RE Share and Reserve Margin in Electricity Supply in SADC Countries
As of mid-2018, Table 6 highlights the share of RE in SADC member countries. In spite of the number of Member States producing electricity from RESs, the majority of electricity production in the region is highly dependent on fossil fuels. However, the region and Member States have increased their RE share in the overall mix of final electricity generation as of 2018, with South Africa leading the ladder (see table 4). As regards the reserve margin, it can be seen that, as of 2016, seven of the member countries had an energy deficit. Except for South Africa, which had more than 10.0GW, the other member countries had negligible reserve margins. These negligible reserve margins are mainly due to the region's rapid electricity demand, but also due to underinvestment in the electricity industry in many SADC nations.

5) RE Share Targets and Interconnection in SADC Countries by 2030
In order to promote in the regional and national electricity supply in the sustainable manner and promote the use of and increase access to clean modern energy services for the greater benefit of all people in the region and member states. The region and SADC states have set up targets plans to be achieved by 2030 for the renewable energy share in the electricity generation as illustrated in Table 7. In addition, to increase regional and national energy security and reliability in electricity sector almost all mainland member countries are interconnected and are involved in international electricity trade except for Malawi and Tanzania which are expected to be interconnected with other members by 2030. However, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles due to their geographical location will always remain not connected to the region electricity grid. Furthermore, in terms of grid losses as shown in table 7, it indicates that Lesotho followed by Angola have higher losses in the SADC region with South Africa having the lowest among the member states. Hence, it can be concluded that the South African power grid has higher efficiency in the region.

Electricity Affordability
According to literature [13], for electricity to be considered as being affordable the following conditions have to be fulfilled: ▪ The electricity tariffs should be low as compared to household income, that is, the household should be able to afford their electricity bills. ▪ The electricity tariffs should be low as compared to other alternative prices of competitor, that is, the price of electricity should be lower than other option such as wood fuel, traditional fuels, fossil fuels etc. ▪ The electricity tariffs should be low enough to ensure the energy import bill is small compared to export earnings [13], ▪ The electricity tariff should be high enough to ensure sufficient benefit and profitability for independent Power Producers and Utility Companies i.e., the tariff should be able to reflect the real value of the electricity supply. In short, the electricity price should take care of all the value chain cost of electricity supply (Production, Transmission/Distribution and other cost of the industry) [16].
This dimension investigates the electricity affordability of SADC countries using the following affordability indicators and criteria; Electricity Prices, GDP per Capita and Cost of Electricity Supply (i.e. the amount spent on electricity as compared to national GDP). Figure 11 highlights the average tariffs for electricity as of 2018 in the SADC countries. The lower the price of electricity in terms of affordability, means the higher the government subsidies practiced, hence, a huge burden on expenditure of government. This suggests that the supply of energy is heavily subsidized and does not reflect the actual electricity cost. The results shows that the majority of SADC member countries have electricity tariff rates of less than US$c10/kWh. However, Namibia among member states has the highest electricity tariff. These lower tariffs suggest that majority of SADC countries' energy is heavily government-subsidized, hence does not attract the private investors, which is the biggest obstacles to the sustainable growth of the electricity industry in the region. Nonetheless, with expectation to meet the cost-reflective rates in SADC member countries, it is expected that the sector will draw a lot of private investment by 2030. Figure 11: Electricity Tariffs in SADC Member, 2018 [24] 2) GDP per Capita

1) Electricity Tariffs
The per capita GDP reflects the citizen's purchasing power, thus nations with higher per capita GDP mean that people have more buying power and vice versa. The scenario represents electricity investment in terms household electricity affordability. Figure 12 shows that most SADC states face problems because the population has less purchasing power, so government subsidies are required to make electricity affordable.

3) Real Cost of Electricity Supply (RCES)
RCES is defined as "the ratio of the proportion of real GDP not dedicated to cover the net electricity supply expenditures (NESE) to real GDP (RGDP)or it is one minus the share of GDP dedicated to cover the cost of the electricity supply(ES)" [28]. The criteria measures the ability of the SADC countries to reduce the RCES and the vulnerability of member states to high RCES. The higher the RCES shows the country's ability to reduce its RCES whereas low values shows exposure of the country to high RCES. RCES is estimated using equation 4 given below. Where ES is estimated by firstly converting the total electricity supply into barrel of oil equivalent (bbl) and multiplying it with the annual real average crude oil price (COP) given in US$ per bbl. Figure 13 below indicates the RCES for SADC member states as of 2019 at COP of US$59.06 per barrel (1kWh=0,006Barrels of Oil Equivalent) [30]. Apart from South Africa, it can be seen that the SADC member countries have RCES above 80%. As earlier mentioned this shows that the member countries have the ability to reduce their RCES. In short this indicates that the majority of SADC countries spend less on electricity from their GDP.

RE Support Policies for improving the Sustainability of Energy in the SADC Countries
To ensure private sector participation in electricity Ensuring the participation of the private sector in the electricity industry and the successful development and dissemination of programs for renewable energy technologies (RETs) in the SADC region, as well as encouraging investment in RETs. A number of additional incentives and RE support policies have been/have been established by the SADC member countries, including (see  Table 8, all SADC member countries have progressed to establishing policies on RE technologies. However, these policies vary according to the country targets and goals set in the national master plans.  [9,31]