As countries seek to expand electricity access, strengthen energy security and accelerate the clean energy transition, transparency has never been more important. But what information really matters, and how can greater openness improve decision-making, attract investment and strengthen sector performance?
These questions were at the heart of CoST’s recent webinar, which brought together government, industry, civil society and international experts to discuss lessons from FCDO-supported research undertaken by CoST and the Centre for Trade Policy Dialogue (CTPD) in Zambia to start a global conversation.
Here are five key takeaways from the discussion.
- The power-sector requires a different transparency lens
CoST’s core focus has traditionally been on infrastructure assets: who won the contract, how much it cost, whether it was delivered on time, on budget and to scope, and whether public funds were used appropriately. That remains essential in the electricity sector. However, electricity-sector transparency cannot stop at the asset. Once a power plant, transmission line or substation is built, the key question is not only whether the asset was delivered, but whether it supports reliable, affordable and financially sustainable electricity service.
This is especially important in reforming power markets, where electricity supply depends on a wider set of decisions about regulation, market access, pricing, procurement, dispatch, network use and payment obligations.
The first takeaway from the webinar, and CoST and CTPD’s research, is that electricity-sector transparency needs to follow the service, not only the asset. General infrastructure transparency remains relevant, but it needs to be complemented by market-access and revenue-side information that shows how electricity is accessed, procured, supplied, priced, paid for and financially sustained.
As the Zambia presentation framed it, the focus needs to shift from the asset alone to the service the asset is meant to provide.
- Electricity-sector risks are created upstream but often paid downstream
A second takeaway from the webinar is that some of the most consequential electricity-sector risks are created upstream, especially during project identification, planning and financing. If planning assumptions, least-cost analysis, demand forecasts, project rationale and climate risks are not disclosed in a timely and structured way, poor choices can become harder to detect and more difficult to reverse.
A clear message from the webinar was that these upstream decisions matter because they can shape costs, risks and performance for many years. We heard that this is especially true where public and private actors are linked through power purchase agreements, tariff structures, indexation clauses, capacity payments, take-or-pay obligations, guarantees, arrears or other fiscal commitments.
Transparency therefore needs to make these connections visible. It should help show not only what infrastructure was built, but also what assumptions justified it, what obligations were created, whether assets perform as expected, and how those decisions affect tariffs, reliability, investment confidence and fiscal exposure over time.
- Open Access turns practical access data into a transparency issue
A third takeaway from the webinar is that Open Access reforms make transparency a practical market requirement. It is not enough to know that market access is allowed in law or that licences have been issued. Market participants also need to understand whether access is workable in practice.
This requires information on licence applications and approvals, connection conditions, available and committed transmission capacity, congestion, wheeling charges, use-of-system charges and customer migration. Without this information, access may exist formally but remain uneven, uncertain or difficult to assess.
Transparency therefore becomes part of how the market functions. The panel explained how it helps reduce information asymmetries, gives investors and operators a clearer basis for decision-making, and supports fairer competition between incumbents, new entrants and large electricity users.
- The challenge is not mainly data availability, but better access to existing data
A fourth takeaway from the webinar is that much of the information needed to strengthen transparency and accountability already exists. Ministries, regulators, utilities, financiers and market actors already generate or hold significant amounts of electricity-sector data.
The panel explained that the problem is this information is often fragmented across institutions, unevenly published, retrospective, difficult to access, or available in formats that limit meaningful analysis. In practice, this means that data may exist, but still not function as useful public information.
The challenge is therefore not simply to create more data. It is to convert existing information into structured, standardised, regularly updated and publicly accessible datasets that can support oversight, market analysis and better decision-making.
- Transparency has to solve real market and accountability problems
A fifth takeaway from the webinar is that transparency cannot be treated as an end in itself. It is most useful when it helps governments, regulators, investors, consumers and citizens solve practical problems. Speakers spoke about how it helps manage risk, improve performance and build confidence.
In Zambia’s electricity sector, this means reducing information asymmetries, improving tariff credibility, supporting investor confidence, strengthening competition, managing public liabilities and improving public oversight. We heard how transparency matters because it can help make reform more credible, risks more visible and decisions easier to scrutinise.
This is why the Zambia work points towards a more practical CoST power-sector data extension. The aim is not simply to publish more information, but to identify which data is most useful for making electricity-sector reform more transparent, investable and accountable.
Looking ahead
Zambia offers a useful starting point because it is already confronting supply pressure, Open Access, tariff reform, hydropower volatility and rising demand.
The next step is to validate and refine the proposed CoST power-sector datapoints, test their wider relevance and turn them into a practical publication framework. The wider lesson is clear: reforming electricity markets need transparency that follows both the asset and the service it enables.
You can download a copy of the first stage report of CoST’s work in Zambia here.
A final report on the second stage of work is due to be published shortly.
Webinar speakers:
Tim Bushnell – Infrastructure and Private Sector Development Adviser, British High Commission Lusaka, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Emmanuel Mumba, Researcher, Centre for Policy Trade and Development (CPTD)
Soren Kirk Jensen, Strategic Adviser, CoST – Infrastructure Transparency Initiative
Sarah Muyuni, Country Lead for Zambia, Adam Smith International
Rushaiya Ibrahim-Tanko, Global Policy Director, Energy for Growth Hub.