According to the Energy Affairs Department (EAD), the Botswana Energy and Water Regulating Authority (BEWRA) and the national oil company will be fully operational next year, with the latter due by January 2013.
BEWRA, which was first spoken of in 2009, is expected to monitor Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Water Utilities Corporation's (WUC) financial positions, regularly recommending tariff adjustments and promoting operational efficiencies. For its part, the national oil company, which was first mooted in late 2010, is expected to procure petroleum products on behalf of the government and possibly the private sector as part of diversification of fuel sources and routes envisioned in NDP 10. According to EAD director, Kenneth Kerekang, both the energy/water regulator and oil company were key organs in the Energy Policy, a draft of which is currently undergoing "internal approval processes" in government. The draft Energy Policy could come before legislators for approval as early as the Winter Parliament in July.
