  This paper provides an overview of the status of the electricity market in
the region, indicating the nexus between electricity consumption with
population growth and GDP. It also analyzes the policy portfolio in different
countries, indicating some of the in-action policies' effectiveness and
recommended alternatives. World Bank datasets were used for the analysis
between 2000 and 2014. We found that the MENA region is at an early stage for
renewable energy with a high potential for solar energy, making it attractive
for investors. However, the high dependency on oil for consumption and
exporting might not provide a prosperous environment for renewable technologies
to grow. Therefore, a greater focus on decoupling economic growth from energy
consumption will have a long-lasting impact on fiscal revenues for net-oil
exporting countries. Moreover, the consequences of the decoupling will allow
more renewables penetration in the current energy mix enabling many countries
to reach their Paris Agreement goals. For short-term energy policy actions,
starting a subsidy reform towards the final repeal of subsidies is a must as
these measures relate to all end-use sectors and impact fiscal stability in
many countries. With its 1.65GW Benban Solar Park in Aswan, Egypt has shown an
example of shifting from subsidizing fossil fuel products to commissioning
renewable projects to get closer to its Paris Agreement targets.
