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Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Abstract

The development of infrastructure to support optimal energy utilization is a key challenge in most developing countries. This challenge, and other socio-political issues, has caused several developing countries to lag behind on the path of economic development. Although the developmental challenges are multifaceted, this paper examines the role of the law in the promotion of energy infrastructure development, and the role that infrastructure plays in directing both the energy process and development, or absence thereof, in a developing country. This paper is primarily concerned with energy infrastructure areas that are in acute need of development and have very poor infrastructure development indicators. To this effect, the paper examines whether there is a correlation between the State and the content of its law in terms of performance, energy sources, energy patterns and use, and levels of discernible sustainable development in the two West African countries, Ghana and Nigeria; both of which are former British colonies and share similar historical antecedents.

The paper is divided into three major sections. The first section considers energy development laws in Nigeria by focusing on the Energy Commission of Nigeria Act, the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act. Similarly, the second section examines energy development laws in Ghana with a focus on both the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Acts in the country. Within this section is a comparison of the state of energy infrastructure development in Nigeria and Ghana. In the final section, a conclusion is reached based on the review and comparisons made.

Cite as: 20 Annl. Survey Int'l. Comp. L. 173 (2014).

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