Leila Benali, the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, announced that her ministry is currently working to simplify the concepts of energy efficiency and to implement a deep philosophical shift that should have been adopted twenty years ago. She noted that there are clear delays in this sector, despite it being considered the second pillar of the energy strategy since 2009.
During a meeting of the Public Finance and Governance Oversight Committee, dedicated to discussing the governance of the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency and its future programs, Benali emphasized that energy efficiency now raises fundamental questions at the state level. She insisted that the approach to it should not be technocratic or limited to office decisions, but rather require broad engagement from various stakeholders.
She pointed out that the first challenge posed relates to the philosophy of public investment and financing, explaining that the ministry aims to convince different actors that investing in energy efficiency can achieve energy savings of up to 30%. She mentioned that the ministry began a trial of the “Energy Performance Contract” in the eastern region with several communities, but faced conceptual readiness issues within the Ministry of Finance, reflecting the need for a change in philosophy, not just program implementation.
Benali revealed that this shift in thinking is part of the institutional reform the ministry is working on, which concerns the Energy Efficiency Agency and other related institutions, asserting that this profound change should have occurred since the 1990s.
Regarding the second challenge, the minister addressed it from the perspective of training and higher education, stressing the need to reconsider training directions towards fields of energy and water efficiency, as well as the circular economy. She highlighted that there are institutes in this field that report an integration rate of 100%, but most trainings still focus on production, while today’s needs trend towards preparing technicians and engineers in areas of responsible consumption and resource conservation.
She added that the third challenge pertains to the citizen’s relationship with the philosophy of energy efficiency, calling for empowering them to be both producers and consumers simultaneously. She referred to the success of a program launched by the ministry in 2022 to support energy conservation, noting that citizens’ participation led to positive results in energy consumption, corroborated by figures.
The minister defended the allocation of a bonus amounting to 240 million dirhams from the energy production fund, stating that this step has enabled a saving of around 800 million dirhams on the state budget, despite objections within the sector.
She explained that empowering citizens, particularly through enabling them to become producers, is a democratic step that enhances individuals’ ability to monitor and reduce their energy bills.
Regarding electricity access, Benali stated that the remaining unconnected areas do not exceed 10%, but they are the most challenging in terms of coverage. She emphasized the importance of developing flexible models tailored to local community needs, highlighting the success of this approach in the post-earthquake phase, during which electricity was extended with high quality under the inclusive rural program.
The minister called for making the philosophical and legislative shift in energy efficiency a topic of national consensus, away from political calculations, asserting that its success requires the collective efforts of both the majority and the opposition.
She concluded by mentioning updates in the efficiency program within the industrial sector, where 70 companies have been trained, achieving an energy savings of 9%, with female participation reaching 27%. Additionally, rewards were distributed to citizens participating in efficiency programs, realizing energy savings equivalent to the annual consumption of the city of Meknes.
