The Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) has pledged its commitment to enhancing the availability of electricity in the region by boosting power generation.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, made this commitment in a message at the 7th Edition of the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF2022) in Abuja, Nigeria. He added that improved electricity will advance the region’s industrialization process.
Dr. Touray, who was represented by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka, said 50% of Africans have access to electricity, but less than 10% are accessible to those in rural areas.
He revealed that ECOWAS is working hard to integrate all communities into the grid, noting that: “By next year we will have an electricity market where contractors can buy electricity.” He further added: “We are developing a new energy policy for the region that will be operational by June next year.”
“The ECOWAS Commission and its specialised energy agencies according to him are working tirelessly to address these challenges. Our strategic objective is to integrate the operation of the Community’s national power grids into a unified regional electricity market to ensure a stable, regular, and reliable supply of competitively priced electricity to the citizens of the ECOWAS member States in the medium term. We plan to achieve this objective by promoting and developing power generation and transmission facilities and equipment and coordinating electricity trade among the ECOWAS Member States.”
“It is the reason that we launched the regional electricity market in June 2018 and the ECOWAS Statutory Bodies adopted a Master Plan for the per development of regional power generation and transmission infrastructure 2019-2033 aiming to generate 16000 MW and construct 23000 km interconnection electric lines.”
He revealed that: “The ECOWAS Commission is also working on improving energy access for the ECOWAS rural population and actively promoting the deployment of off-grid energy solutions, such as clean energy mini-grids and stand-alone technologies.
“To this end, several regional projects are at the stage of implementation within the region. Our objective is to have an access consolidated rate of 70% by 2030.”
“The ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the region’s overall electricity mix to 48% in 2030; and the ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy, aims to implement measures that free 2000 MW of power generation capacity and in the medium term, more than double the annual improvement in energy efficiency.”
“By next year we will have an electricity market where contractors can buy electricity.” He added that: “We are developing a new energy policy for the region that will be operational by June next year.”
According to him, the commission aims to increase the renewable energy policy in the region to an overall electricity mix of 48 percent by 2030 and other policies related to energy efficiency.
He said that ECOWAS was also implementing a measure that will add 2000 Megawatts of power generation capacity and in the medium term more than double the annual improvement of energy efficiency.
Funding
Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo who declared the summit open, said Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) would require funding of about 1.9 trillion dollars up to 2060.
Professor Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu explained that 410 billion dollars of this amount was above usual spending and implies that Nigeria need to mobilise additional 10 billion dollars per annum.
”The realisation of this goal depends on the implementation of our nation’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) which was recently launched by this administration.”
”Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan is a prime example of the needed evolution of policies to deliver both the growth in energy consumption necessary for the development and the climate response required for the preservation of our planet.
”Our Energy Transition Plan seeks to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change, and deliver universal energy access (SDG7) by 2030 and net-zero by 2060.
”It is also a bolder articulation of our commitment to sustainability and renewables as earlier proposed in the Electricity Vision 30:30:30, which aims to provide 30GW of electricity by the year 2030 with renewable energy contributing at least 30 percent to the energy mix,’’ he said.
According to him, the success of universal energy access and carbon neutrality is dependent on the effectiveness of crowding in these investments.
Policy measures
Professor Osinbajo said that Nigeria Government plans to roll out a set of policy measures that would attract financing and investments of up to 10 billion dollars and create scalability of programmes of over 30 billion dollars over the coming decades.
The Nigerian Vice President said that these policy measures and programmes would be leveraged, to catalyze the Nigerian ETP specifically on renewable power.
”For instance, we are updating the Mini-Grid Regulation to raise the cap for licensing from 1 megawatt (MW) to 5 megawatts (MW); developing the policy for the integration of Utility Scale Solar into the Grid,
”With a requirement for 10 percent of on-grid power to come from Solar by 2025 creating a Solar Stabilization Fund with a target of 100 million dollars to backstop on-grid solar contracts.
”Completing scalable, private sector-driven Renewable Energy Distribution Franchise pilots (all at Financial Close) including; Konexca Distribution model USD 90 million with the Kaduna Distribution Company (DISCo).
”And stabilise the on-grid sector through modernising operations of our Grid and further preparing the grid for renewable energy, ”he explained.
Professor Osinbajo said that Government was also developing innovative data tools such as the Integrated Energy Planning Tool designed in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the SE4All Central Data Management System (CDMS) Web portal (nigeriase4all.gov.ng).
He said that Government was incorporating Solar PV Alternative Power Supply to select Public Buildings; and developing the 3D (Distributed, Decarbonised, and Digitalised) 24 Hours Feeder Programme.
Professor Osinbajo said that the project would provide an uninterrupted power supply to dedicated feeders through a hybrid of the grid and renewable power.
”These efforts amplify our commitments and signify our readiness for investments.
”We must work together on strategies and reforms needed to crowd in the investments required for real and impactful projects and progress on the ground.
” To reach our goals, sufficient capital must be made available in the region, and we must do our part in creating the enabling environment for these funds.
”As a region, we must scale such efforts and deliver robust and sustainable energy systems for the prosperity of our people.
” Private sector participation and technological applications for clean and sustainable energy is the future for the ECOWAS region, ”he said.
In his remark, the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Juan Ignacio Sell said the urgent need for energy transition should be paramount.
“During the African Union/European Union summit we launched the EU Africa Global Gateway investment package with the Africa EU Green Energy Initiative as a key component to consolidate existing investments or to launch new ones.
“In the framework of the new world the annual indicative programme 2021 2027 of the EU we are planning to allocate 600 million Euros of grants funding in the sustainable energy sector in West Africa alone. The EU considers equity and I quote from the message that I have been asked to convey as a key partner in the domain of sustainable energy and has the wish and the vision for close cooperation in the future”.
The ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF) is the premier energy event in West Africa.
The 7th Edition of the Forum (ESEF2022) by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) is organized in collaboration with Nigeria’s Ministry of Power.
ECREEE is a specialized agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with a public mandate to promote sustainable energy markets in the ECOWAS region.
ECREEE instituted the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF) in 2017 to support the investment and policy initiatives of ECOWAS Member States in the regional sustainable energy sector.
ESEF has become a veritable platform for networking and forging effective partnerships that help accelerate the implementation of priority energy projects and ensure transformative progress toward attaining the ECOWAS region’s sustainable energy objectives.
Olusola Akintonde
