The UK government and Solomon Islands' Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification (MMERE) agreed the next stage of a UK energy programme, setting out a roadmap for legislation needed to establish a new independent energy regulator, according to a UK government statement published on 30 September 2026. The statement said the regulator is intended to let more independent power providers operate, reducing dependence on imported diesel for on- and off-grid generation and offering more power options, especially solar.

British High Commissioner Paul Turner met MMERE Permanent Secretary Chris Vehe that week to sign the next stage of assistance. The UK said it had already been drafting primary legislation but that secondary legislation on economic licensing of new energy generators and technical certification of electrical workers remained a critical gap; it agreed to provide technical and legal expertise to finalise the framework. Energy lawyer William Kadi, a former Chevening scholar, is the contracted legal expert.

The legislation is being drafted under MMERE supervision and was planned to be handed to the Attorney General's Chambers in the months after the statement. Citing the reform timeline and Prime Minister Matthew Wale's commitment to lower electricity tariffs, the UK and MMERE aimed to complete the draft between February and March 2027. Turner said the UK's legal work would support the wider World Bank-led energy programme, including tariff and institutional reforms, and that the UK would keep working with the World Bank and ADB in the power sector.