Rural and Renewable Energy Agency Act, 2011.

This Act aims at establishing the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency, an autonomous body wholly owned by the Government of Liberia, with the following main tasks (i) to promote improved access to modern energy services in rural areas; (ii) to facilitate and accelerate the economic transformation of rural Liberia by promoting the development and supply of modern energy products and services with an emphasis on locally available renewable resources; (iii) to introduce and promote the enactment of regulations and policies; (iv) to administer, secure, enforce, design and execute policies, strategies, plans, and programs relating directly and indirectly to the functioning, growth, and development of the rural energy sector. The Agency shall be established based on the following main principles (i) national interest; (ii) sustainability; (iii) development; (iv) productive uses and income generation; (v) equality among consumers; (vi) community involvement; (vii) conservation and efficient use of natural resources. The functions of the Agency are explained in Section 2.1, and the main ones among them are (i) developing in collaboration with the concerned Ministries and other stakeholders a Rural Energy Strategy and Master Plan; (ii) negotiating and entering into contracts with experts and institutions in furtherance of its goal and objectives; (iii) facilitating the coordination of its activities with other rural development activities; (iv) supporting the collection and public dissemination of high-quality renewable energy resource data, information on rural energy needs, and their geographic distribution; (v) facilitating the provision of capacity building activities; (vi) promoting the establishment of rural energy cooperatives and private electricity service companies; (vii) facilitating the funding of rural energy projects; (viii) promoting market-based approaches to energy development with a focus on public-private partnership.
Chapter III deals with the Organization and Structure of the Agency, consisting of a Board of Directors and an Executive Director. Chapter IV establishes a Rural Energy Fund representing the funding mechanism by which the Board shall provide for the coordinated and sustainable financing of projects and programs for the development of rural and renewable energy projects and delivery of modem energy services in a manner such that the Fund becomes a channel through which domestic and international financial resources intended for rural and renewable energy delivery in Liberia shall be managed. It is also established a Fund Management Committee to (i) ensure that processing applications for financial assistance are conducted by the Agency following the procedures and criteria approved by the Board; (ii) monitor financial transactions and oversee the balance sheet of the Fund; (iii) facilitate the periodic reporting and auditing of the activities of the Fund.