Algeria's state-owned electricity industry will be gradually opened up to private companies, according to the Commission for Regulation of Electricity and Gas (CREG), which held a briefing on Monday (February 19th) in Algiers. CREG said producers Sonelgaz, Kahrama, and SKS Skikda and companies producing electricity for their own use will have to comply with the new regulations, finalised last November. Industrial groups will be able to choose their electricity supplier, but the state-owned company Sonelgaz will keep its monopoly on electricity infrastructure and distribution. The government expects the first private companies in the sector to emerge next year. The electricity producers will be able to export part of their production to Tunisia, Morocco and to the European Union through underwater cables.

Algeria opens electricity sector to private investors