West Africa Electricity Market to be launched in June

The West Africa Electricity Market is to be launched in June this year in Cotonou in the Republic of Benin as part of measures to address energy challenges in the ECOWAS sub-region.

This follows the adoption of recommendations by the task force set up by the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority’s (ERERA) Consultative Committee of Regulators and Operators during the 11th meeting of the committee in Accra on Thursday.

The Consultative Committee was set up to specifically review the conditions for access and use of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) transmissions services.

ERERA is the regulator of the West African regional cross-border trade of electricity and the regional regulator of cross-border electricity inter-connections.

The main objective of ERERA is to ensure the regulation of inter-state electricity exchanges and to give appropriate support to national regulatory bodies or entities of the member states.

Speaking at the 11th Consultative Committee of Regulators and Operators, the Chairman of ERERA, Professor Honore Bogler called on member states to work hard to address the energy challenges in the ECOWAS sub-region.

He said the desire of the ECOWAS member states to realize electricity inter-connections through the joint implementation and sharing of energy resources of the region has manifested in the adoption of the Energy Protocol designed to put in place the appropriate legal and institutional environment for the development of the electricity sector of the West African bloc.

a section of the participants 

He said the aim of the electricity market was to enable the member states to sell their energy at commercial prices to attract investors in the ECOWAS sub-region.

“The aim of the electricity market is to put together all our energy resources to make a big energy market,” Prof. Bogler said.

He explained that the electricity market would regulate cross-border electricity connections and trading among ECOWAS member states as well as establishing a clear and transparent tariff setting methodology for regional power pooling.

Prof. Bogler said progress has been made with documentation and other necessities for the launch of the phase one of the electricity market from June 25 to 29 in Cotonou.

He said the market would enable the member states to sell their energy at competitive prices, noting that the market would be using the regional transmission lines as well as relying on existing national transmission grids.

According to the Regional Market Rules approved by ERERA, once the first phase of the Market begins, any new contract for the purchase and sale of energy among market participants must comply with the regulation in the “Procedures for Access to the WAPP Transmission Services”.

The meeting brought together experts from the energy sector from all the ECOWAS member states.