Marrakech – The SRM Marrakech-Safi hosted the WAEU’26 Workshop on Urban Energy Architecture on May 23 at the Conference Center of Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech.
The event, co-organized with the École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées (ENSA) Marrakech and the Laboratory of Systems Engineering and Applications (LISA), convened researchers, industrialists, startups, and public officials around smart grids, microgrids, electric mobility, green hydrogen, and connected urban infrastructure.
The regional utility operates under a 30-year management contract with capital of MAD 100 million ($10 million). It serves 4.9 million inhabitants across the Marrakech-Safi region, covering the prefecture of Marrakech and seven provinces: Safi, Essaouira, Chichaoua, Al Haouz, Youssoufia, Rehamna, and El Kelâa des Sraghna. Its shareholders include GCT Marrakech-Safi at 40%, ONEE and the state each at 25%, and the region at 10%.
Electricity dominates the company’s books. Energy sales reached MAD 4.31 billion ($431 million) in 2025, accounting for 65.46% of total revenue of MAD 6.59 billion ($659 million).
The utility distributed 4.089 TWh at an average price of MAD 1.05/kWh. Gross electricity margin stood at MAD 561.53 million ($56.15 million), a 13.02% rate. Electricity generates 84% of the company’s gross margin on sales versus 16% for drinking water.
The network’s operational footprint spans 65,147 km of electrical lines, 1,518,345 clients, 2,210 MVA of installed capacity, and 34 source substations. In 2025, the company processed 17,953 service complaints and carried out 13,377 incident-response interventions.
Teams renewed 71 HTA/BT substations, maintained 787 others covering 26.2% of the Marrakech fleet, completed 204 preventive maintenance actions, and logged 32 control-command anomalies at source substations.
Electricity investment totaled MAD 105.93 million ($10.59 million), just 3% of the overall MAD 3.45 billion ($345 million) program. Distribution improvement absorbed MAD 88.27 million ($8.83 million) while reinforcement and extension received MAD 14.62 million ($1.46 million).
Regulatory framework reshapes grid planning
Morocco’s regulatory trajectory formed a central theme. From Law 13-09 in 2010 opening private renewable production through ANRE’s creation via Laws 48-15 and 58-15, to Law 40-19 introducing hosting capacity as a planning variable and Law 82-21 establishing prosumer rights, the framework now requires distribution networks to function as active platforms.
ANRE’s 2026 decisions set the medium-voltage TURD at 6.07 cDH/kWh from March 2026, with surplus buyback at 18 cDH/kWh off-peak and 21 cDH/kWh at peak. National hosting capacity targets 10,429 MW by 2030, including 1,324 MW for solar distribution.
Three auto-production regimes govern grid access: declaration for installations under 11 kW, connection agreement for 11 kW to 5 MW systems targeting SMEs and agriculture, and authorization for projects at or above 5 MW.
On smart grid readiness, SCADA, GIS, and sensor networks operate at good functional status. OMS functions well but needs deeper integration. MDMS requires upgrading, while Advanced Metering Infrastructure remains to be deployed.
The recommended AMI architecture combines RF mesh neighborhood networks, LTE cellular relay, a Head End System, and MDMS. The primary target is to convert 1.5 million electricity clients into a distributed measurement network.
Speakers called for upgrading SCADA/OMS with advanced ADMS capabilities incorporating FLISR fault management and DERMS, deploying AI for predictive maintenance and load forecasting, and investing in Volt/Var control for rising solar production and EV charging loads.
Six implementation priorities anchor the roadmap: dynamic medium-voltage mapping, a unified network data repository, targeted automation of critical feeders, condition-based maintenance, local renewable piloting, and OT cybersecurity.
A student competition titled “Smart Cities: Energy, Safety & Mobility” ran alongside scientific panels on intelligent networks, sustainable transport, AI applied to energy, and territorial data governance.
