Pushing for a synchronised West African electricity market
Achieving the desired improvement in electricity supplies to the West Africa region is a challenge that governments in the region have grappled with for decades.
The burden of electricity supply in West Africa is such that while some countries have no access to power, those who seem to have access to electricity are consistently battling with excruciating power interruptions.
West Africa needs to significantly improve its electricity supply in order to enhance energy access for its growing population and provide the means for economic growth.
It is in line with a search for solution that experts who know in the power sector has advocated for a strategic synchronisation in the regional electricity market to boost effective distribution of electricity.
They observe that with synchronisation, it means that all the electricity that is generated across the sub-region would have to be synchronised so that from Nigeria to Cote d’Ivoire, we can have the same power frequency.
It enabled West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) and the rest of the country to synchronise their power to that level says Usman Gur Mohammed, Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)
He said the vision of the regional electricity market is also to provide energy security so that if tomorrow, Nigeria has a problem of gas supply, it can import energy from Ghana or Burkina Faso depending on which has cheaper source of energy. We are also not building transmission lines for just five to 10 years; it is something that should last for 100 years to boost electricity trade.
Industry close watchers observed that with strategic working of WAPP, it will improve the collection capacities of distribution firms by forming mechanisms that will guarantee payment like this synchronisation.
The purpose of WAPP is to enable trade between Nigeria and other countries. Trade creates jobs; if there is a Generation Company (GenCo) in Nigeria that sells power to Benin Republic, that company will create jobs for Nigeria.
It is also creating business for our country because the company that is selling energy in Benin Republic will also be able to make profit.
According to a World Bank report, the project will help reduce the cost of electricity supply at the utility level for smaller West African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone and increase the amount of electricity traded among all the participating countries. It will also help increase the technical integration of the WAPP network.
Developing appropriate policies and financing mechanisms for cross-border projects remain a key challenge, particularly for encouraging private sector investors.
WAPP is working with World Bank and other financiers to develop workable models for cross-border project finance and regulation on priority projects, along with ways to increase capacity of institutions responsible to support delivery.
Analysts opines that the WAPP Master Plan provides the overall strategy and framework for preparing and implementing all WAPP priority projects tailored to the conditions in the West African energy market.
They pointed out that the updated Master Plan will allow the various agents in the electricity sector to have a global, clear, and coherent view of the future development of the electricity generation and transmission infrastructure in West Africa.
KELECHI EWUZIE