Created at the 22nd summit of the Economic Community of West African States Authority of Heads of State and Government, the West African Power Pool was formed to promote and develop power generation and transmission infrastructures as well as to coordinate power exchange among the ECOWAS member states. At the just-concluded WAPP 14th General Assembly in Abuja, the need for the region to collaborate in ending energy deficits was re-echoed and predicated on the success of a $36.
Already, an ECOWAS Master Plan for the Development of Regional Generation and Transmission Infrastructure has been developed with identified priority projects from 2019 to 2033 at the cost of $36.4 billion. The master plan was adopted by the ECOWAS Ministers in charge of energy on December 4, 2018, and later assented to by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government on December 22, 2018.
While Nigeria’s power grid has collapsed about 100 times in the last six years, the situation has occurred eleven times this year, as the system collapsed two times last weekend, indicating that the challenge was far from over. The Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies , Dr Joy Ogaji has noted that traditional challenges affecting the electricity sectors across the region, if not addressed would truncate the regional plan.
While the lack of power undermines investment, employment creation and economic growth, costing Africa about 4 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product , the concern for some stakeholders is the need for a sustainable approach that would prioritise renewable energy and finding ways to mitigate climate change challenges while exploring energy options.