The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has sounded the alarm over the dismal state of electricity access in rural areas across the region.
Jerrymusa.com reports that only 10% of rural areas in West Africa would have access to power by 2023, according to a statement made today at the weekly press conference in Abuja by Mr. Sediko Douka, the ECOWAS Commissioner of Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalization.
“This dismal figure contrasts sharply with the region’s general improvement in electrical access, which increased from 45% in 2019 to 53% on average in 2023.
ECOWAS Plan to Increase Electricity Generation
“The installed production capacity of 25,421 GW in the energy sector, one of ECOWAS’s primary areas of operation, is allocated as follows: 22% hydro, 1% solar/wind, and 77% thermal.
“An average of 53% of people will have access to electricity by 2023, up from 45% in 2019.”
“There were notable differences even with this rise, since just 10% of rural areas have access to electricity,” he noted.
He estimated that just 9% of intra-regional electricity exchanges occurred in the electric sector.
“According to the ECOWAS commissioner, electricity costs in the West African region are still extremely high (0.24 USD = 150 FCFA/kWh), which has a detrimental effect on the growth of the economy, particularly the industrial sector.
“The West African Power Pool (WAPP) in Cotonou, Benin; the Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) in Accra, Ghana; the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in Praia, Cape Verde; and the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAGPA) in Accra, Ghana, were among the specialised agencies in the energy sector established by ECOWAS to address these challenges, he said.
“The implementation of the WAPP Master Plan for regional power generation and transmission facilities for 2019–2033—75 regional projects valued at USD 36 billion are planned to build 23,000 km of power interconnection lines and generate 16,000 MW—is one of the additional measures taken by ECOWAS to address the challenges, according to Douka.”
In his opinion, the promotion of renewable energy sources, the 2018 launch and operationalization of the Regional Power Market, and power access programmes for both on-grid and off-grid networks are among the others.