1. There is a need for widespread awareness of gender differences when designing energy policies. Men and women have different energy needs and these differences have to be accounted for when providing a rural community with electricity. Gender audits, like the one developed in Botswana, can help identify gender gaps in energy policies and suggest ways to address them. 2. When planning rural electrification, the characteristics and the needs of communities need to be surveyed to assess whether a certain community can have grid electricity in the near future. If extending the grid is not economically feasible it needs to be determined which off-grid options - stand alone systems or mini-grids - are the most suitable. 3. The legislators unanimously agreed on the importance of building capacity within Southern Africa and stimulating the local production of renewable technologies (such as solar panels) instead of relying on expensive imports. This would not only increase access to these systems and accelerate the deployment of renewables, but would also create jobs in the region. 4. Feasibility studies on the potential for solar thermal power should be conducted, especially in the countries with the highest solar irradiation levels such as Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. Furthermore, possibilities for sharing this and other renewable sources through regional HVDC links should also be assessed. 5. A number of options were discussed regarding the financing of renewable energies in the region. As has been demonstrated in some African countries, Feed-in tariffs can help encourage the uptake of on-grid renewable energies. Given that the European-style FIT scheme may not always be suitable for off-grid rural electrification, the "Renewable Energy Premium Tariff" - that combines the key aspects of a FIT with government or international funding - was discussed as a promising way to promote mini- grids in remote areas. 6. Introducing a charge on grid-connected users, encouraging financial institutions to offer soft-loans for RE projects and offering tax breaks and lower import tariffs for RE technologies and necessary materials were other financing options discussed by MPs and experts.