Affirming the authority of the State, restoring the financial capacity of public operators in the energy sector and securing gas imports while boosting the electricity mix are the main measures to adopt to preserve Tunisia’s energy security, according to a recent study from the Tunisian Institute of Strategic Studies (Ites).
According to this study entitled “Preserving and consolidating our energy security” , the priority is to restore the capacities of the State, its institutions and operators in the sector in order to ensure the continuous supply of the national energy market.
“The sector will collapse if energy consumers refuse to pay for the services provided to them and if public monopolies in the sector continue to sell their products at prices lower than the cost of their production and/or purchase without receiving , on time, the compensation to be provided by the Public Treasury ,” warns the study.
Review the subsidy policy
To restore the rule of law, the proposed measures consist of recovering unpaid debts to companies in the sector (Steg, Stir, Etap, SNDP) by the Treasury and by unscrupulous clients as well as putting an end to the theft of electricity and fuel smuggling.
It also involves applying the regulations in force concerning the obligation to constitute and maintain a safety stock of 60 days of fuel consumption, as well as those relating to the protection of infrastructure of vital importance and to adopt a specific emergency response and crisis management plan.
However, Tunisia is no longer a rentier country in terms of oil, these measures will not be able to clean up the accounts of Steg, Stir and Etap, as long as energy, electricity, gas and fuels will be marketed at prices well below their cost.
To restore the financial capacity of public operators so that they can carry out the mission assigned to them, the authors of the study recommend reviewing the subsidy policy.
“In the long term, a generalized and substantial energy subsidy does not encourage sobriety or performance and slows down the development of alternative resources. To be effective, energy subsidies must be selective, targeted and judiciously managed over time. The abrupt cancellation of subsidies will have social costs. Likewise, their maintenance, without making all the necessary adjustments, will cause serious disruptions in the public energy service and, as a result, vulnerable populations will face a serious situation,” explains the study. She said that “the reform of energy price policy is a delicate operation which requires ongoing consultation over several years between the different stakeholders. The choice of products and the timetable for reducing their subsidies are determined by political authorities and senior administration. The selective and targeted reduction of energy subsidies must be followed by compensatory measures aimed at supporting the most vulnerable social categories.”
Relaunch the “solar plan” which has fallen far behind schedule
Concerning the security of gas imports to ensure the continuity of electrical energy supply in the short and medium term, Ites called for negotiations to be held as soon as possible with the Algerian authorities in order to set the conditions of purchase. gas beyond 2027, to give a strong agreement to give impetus to the “solar plan” which has fallen far behind schedule, to quickly implement the right project to equip public buildings with photovoltaic panels and to encourage owners of homes and buildings with high electricity consumption to be equipped with photovoltaic panels.
In addition to this emergency plan, the ITES study calls for financially restructuring the sector in the short, medium and long terms, developing all national energy resources, controlling energy demand, diversifying suppliers of imported natural gas as well as ‘to increase the organizational capacity of actors.
