ECOWAS Unleashes Bold Energy Reforms To Power West Africa’s Future
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Millions of people across West Africa who depend on reliable electricity for their homes, businesses and livelihoods could benefit from proposed reforms as ECOWAS energy experts meet in Accra, Ghana, to strengthen the region’s electricity market.
The two-day meeting, which began on Tuesday, 20 October, is reviewing key regulatory instruments designed to expand energy storage, improve the financial sustainability of the regional electricity market and advance access to affordable, reliable power across the sub-region.
The experts, drawn from ECOWAS Member States, the ECOWAS Commission and its institutions, and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), are examining proposals to be presented to the region’s Energy Ministers.
A major item on the agenda is a draft directive on deploying battery energy storage systems and other energy storage technologies, proposed by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE).
The experts are also reviewing a proposed amendment to the regulation governing the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market Levy, submitted by the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), alongside five memoranda for the ministers’ consideration.
Speaking on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitisation, the Commission’s Director of Energy and Mines, Mr Arkadius Koumoin, said the meeting’s recommendations would help shape the region’s energy future.
He said the proposed measures would support the deployment of energy storage technologies, strengthen the financial sustainability of the regional electricity market and improve access to reliable and affordable electricity.
Declaring the meeting open, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan Mensah, expressed confidence that the deliberations would produce practical recommendations to advance the regional energy agenda and bring West Africa closer to universal and sustainable energy access.
The meeting is part of preparations for the ECOWAS Energy Ministers’ meeting in Accra, where ministers are expected to consider the experts’ recommendations and determine the next steps on the proposed regulatory instruments.
The outcome could help shape regional efforts to build a more financially sustainable electricity market and expand access to dependable power across West Africa.
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