AFREC Kicks Off Hands-On In-Country Smart Grid Training in Namibia

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September 29, 2025

The African Energy Commission (AFREC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy of Namibia and the Namibian Energy Institute (NEI), has launched a five day in-person Smart Grid training in Windhoek to support Namibia’s development of a National Smart Grid Strategy to modernise electricity distribution, improve demand-side management, and integrate higher shares of renewable energy.

Namibia is the first beneficiary of AFREC’s in-person Smart Grid Training following a successful virtual rollout to all African Union (AU) Member States.

Drawing on AFREC’s previous online training sessions, the workshop translates continental learning into practical, country-level delivery and features experience-sharing with South Africa’s ESKOM to deepen peer-to-peer learning across the Continent.

Opening the workshop, Mr John Titus of the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy of Namibia underscored the fact that Namibia is at a “critical juncture” in its energy journey. Mr Titus stressed that his country’s ambitious national goals require “smarter, more responsive systems that can meet rising demand, integrate intermittent renewable sources, and maintain reliability despite environmental and economic pressures—with smart grids serving not just as a technological upgrade, but an enabler of systemic transformation”.

From 29 September to 03 October, more than 25 training participants from utilities, regulators, academia and government agencies will strengthen competencies across six modules: Fundamentals of Smart Grids; Communication Technologies; Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Grid Sensors; Integration of Renewable Energy; Data Analytics and Grid Optimisation; and Regulatory and Policy Considerations.

The training programme was designed to equip Namibian teams to plan, design, procure and operate modern, data-driven smart-grid solutions. This builds on AFREC’s recent thematic training on smart grids, which convened over 70 professionals from 24 African countries, including representatives from Namibia.

“This training moves us from continental knowledge-sharing to hands-on national delivery,” said Mehdi Khouili of AFREC. “By pairing Namibia’s strategic objectives with AFREC’s mandate for capacity development and Eskom’s practical experience, we are growing a pan-African ecosystem of skills and shared practice that advances energy security, strengthens system resilience and integration.”

This initiative falls under AFREC’s Framework for Cross-Border Strategic Cooperation in Skills Sharing launched earlier this year and is part of AFREC’s Comprehensive Capacity Building Programme.

AFREC will continue to capacitate individuals and institutions across Africa, with two additional in-person trainings on renewable energy project development scheduled for November and December 2025, and more planned for next year.

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