Water Utility of the Future: Office National de l'Électricité et de l'Eau Potable
Water Utility of the Future: Office National de l'Électricité et de l'Eau Potable
Emergency desalination-led restructuring of Morocco's water production base under the National Water Plan 2020-2050, delivered through ONEE as the sole national operator under a 220 billion MAD Equipment Plan 2025-2030 with 80% of new water production capacity from seawater desalination, running in parallel with the progressive transfer of distribution functions to 12 Sociétés Régionales Multiservices under Law 83.21.
This report examines how ONEE is moving from integrated service delivery toward national production, bulk supply, and capital programme execution under Morocco's most consequential water security transition.
Target Audience
- Utility Executives & System Operators: Understand how the Equipment Plan 2025-2030 reshapes national production, bulk supply, and desalination execution.
- Regulators & Policymakers: Examine how Law 83.21 restructures accountability across production, distribution, and regional service delivery.
- Infrastructure Investors & Financiers: Assess how the US$573 million World Bank Program-for-Results supports governance-linked financing discipline.
Report Deliverables
- Governance Analysis: Provides analysis of Law 83.21 and the transition toward a wholesale-retail utility architecture.
- System Transformation Insight: Delivers insight into desalination-led production growth and renewable energy integration.
- Capital Programme Evaluation: Enables evaluation of ONEE's IFI financing stack and domestic capital market access.
- Climate Resilience Assessment: Provides assessment of scarcity exposure, dam stress, groundwater pressure, and reuse targets.
- Operational Frameworks: Delivers frameworks for bulk supply accountability, digital monitoring, and institutional capability development.
The Five Strategic Pillars
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Architectures: Desalination Capital Programme Execution
Equipment Plan 2025-2030 allocates 80% of 2.7 million cubic metres per day of new water capacity to seawater desalination, with the Casablanca mega-plant acting as the lead PPP execution test.
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Enablement: Wholesale-Retail Institutional Restructuring
Law 83.21 and its February 2024 implementing decrees transfer distribution rights to 12 Sociétés Régionales Multiservices while ONEE retains national production and bulk transmission responsibilities.
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Resolution: Multi-Creditor IFI Financing Architecture
ONEE's financing stack spans World Bank, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, JICA, AFD, KfW, and domestic securitisation channels supporting capital delivery at scale.
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Alignment: Climate Scarcity Response and Infrastructure Resilience
Morocco's National Water Plan 2020-2050 combines desalination, inter-basin transfer, artificial recharge, dam expansion, and treated wastewater reuse to address absolute scarcity pressure.
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Capability Building: Energy-Water Decoupling and Renewable Integration
The Equipment Plan 2025-2030 links desalination economics to renewable generation, transmission modernisation, and a 3,000 megawatt electric highway connecting Morocco's south and centre.
Operational Excellence & Resilience
Office National de l'Électricité et de l'Eau Potable operates an integrated national water network supported by bulk production, transmission assets, and sovereign investment execution. Performance is achieved through the Equipment Plan 2025-2030 and the shift toward desalination-led production capacity. This is further supported by Law 83.21, which separates regional distribution from national production and bulk supply. Key performance is reflected in approximately 37 million people served through 5.3 million water connections. This is reinforced by rural water access rising from 14% in 1990 to 96.6% by 2017.
PNAEPI 2020-2027 is the early implementation phase of the National Water Plan 2020-2050, whose total envelope exceeds 380 billion MAD, and was launched by Royal decree in January 2020.
About the Author
Expert Briefing: FAQs
The report analyses ONEE's shift toward national production, bulk supply, and desalination-led water security. This is supported by the Equipment Plan 2025-2030 commitment of 220 billion MAD across electricity and water sectors. This is delivered through the National Water Plan 2020-2050 and the parallel Law 83.21 restructuring process.
Desalination is central because Morocco is moving away from reliance on conventional freshwater sources under severe scarcity pressure. This is supported by 2.7 million cubic metres per day of additional production capacity, with 80% from seawater desalination. This is delivered through the Equipment Plan 2025-2030 and the Casablanca seawater desalination station PPP framework.
Law 83.21 progressively repositions ONEE from an integrated operator to a national production and bulk supply authority. This is supported by the creation of 12 Sociétés Régionales Multiservices with exclusive distribution rights. This is delivered through February 2024 implementing decrees covering electricity, drinking water, and liquid sanitation distribution.
ONEE's financing architecture is important because the capital programme depends on coordinated IFI, domestic, and government funding channels. This is supported by US$573 million in World Bank Program-for-Results financing across 2023-2028. This is delivered alongside European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, JICA, AFD, KfW, and domestic securitisation mechanisms.
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