The East African Community has made significant steps towards political integration and Monetary Union. In the last two years, the Community has expanded owing to the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo and recently, the Republic of Somalia in 2023. Such development needs to ensure that there is secure, affordable, and competitive energy for everyone. Hence, focusing on the four-pronged approach to the Energy Union provides key pillars that promote cohesive and supportive approaches to achieve the overarching objective.

The dimensions of the EAC Energy Union are summarised as 1). energy security, affordability, and efficiency; providing reliable energy at affordable cost and in an efficient manner to spur economic growth in the region. 2). Fully integrated and competitive energy market; a market that allows efficient market participation and free access to adequate interconnections as well as allows renewable integration into the systems. It also provides for strategic investment in rural areas where the main grid may not be economically feasible in the short term. It also envisages the introduction of robust wholesale energy markets and a dynamic spot market to increase competition in both supply and distribution 3). Just Energy Transition: in which the region aims at strategic investment in all available energy sources to ensure energy security while taking into consideration decarbonising the economies. 4). Sustainable Capacity Building and research: the region is looking into providing innovative models for energy efficiency and technologies as well as providing tailor-made training through its Energy Regulation Centre of Excellence.

The robust design of the energy market will determine the speed and effectiveness of the EAC Energy Union. The regulators are responsible for ensuring that transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness are achieved through the harmonisation of key Energy regulatory frameworks and tools that will support speeding up the progress.