COMESA has since 2003 adopted some 300 standards. Twenty two of these standards cover electrical standards, of which sixteen are in the area of electrical generation, transmission and distribution. The rest are for electrical accessories.
COMESA established two Regional Technical Secretariats. One is for Electrical Accessories standards (such as those for domestic appliances), which is hosted by Rwanda and the other one is for Electrical Energy Standards (electrical generation, transmission and distribution) which is hosted by Kenya.
Given the urgent need for the development of standards for electrical energy sector, COMESA has circulated some 74 Standards covering this sector. These are mainly based on International standards. The Standards will be considered by the Energy Regulatory Authorities in conjunction with the National Standards Bodies in late July 2008.
In the area of petroleum products, and in order to enhance trade in petroleum products, the Secretariat has outsourced a consultant to develop harmonized standards for petroleum products specification (It is hoped that 60 draft harmonized standards). The consultant has now submitted a draft report which will be taken through a consultative process.
The overall objective of the study is to prepare and provide harmonized standards for Petroleum Products Specifications for adoption in the COMESA member States.
The overall objective of harmonized standards is to create a fully integrated and internationally competitive and unified region in which goods, services, capital and persons move freely. The principal route that has been chosen in order to realize this goal is economic integration through development of trade and investment.
The specific objective of harmonized energy standards is to facilitate trade in energy services, in particular, trade in petroleum products.