Promotion of a Climate-friendly Electricity Market in the ECOWAS Region (ProCEM II)

Project description

Title: Promotion of a Climate-friendly Electricity Market in the ECOWAS Region (ProCEM II)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo
Lead executing agency: ECOWAS Commission
Overall term: 2022 to 2024

A drawing of a crowd of people in front of a pylon.

Context

Better electricity market integration, including the promotion of Renewable Energies (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE), are political priorities of ECOWAS. A common electricity market would allow for more cross-border use of RE and other resources. This would, in turn, improve the quality of energy supply, lower costs and reduce investment risks.

Despite major improvements, cross-border trading in electricity remains negligible. Structural deficits, economic weaknesses and a lack of operational performance mean the energy sector is ill-prepared for trading in electricity. Furthermore, existing regional policies, regulations and processes need more rigorous implementation and the vast potential of RE needs to be better exploited.

The institutional, technical, legal and regulatory frameworks for a climate-friendly regional electricity market are still inadequate. In response to this, ProCEM II builds on its predecessor (ProCEM), striving to operationalise the regional electricity market and intensify electricity trading between the ECOWAS member states.

Objective

The institutional, technical, legal and regulatory frameworks in the ECOWAS energy sector are improving, thus enabling a functional climate-friendly regional electricity market.

Illustration on eLearning-strategy

Approach

The programme addresses four intervention areas:

  • Operationalisation of the Regional Electricity Market: enhancing instruments and processes for implementing the operationalisation of the regional electricity market.
  • Strengthening the operational performance of utilities: energy utilities of the region are improved and can participate actively in the regional electricity market.
  • Improving the framework conditions for the expansion of renewable energy including Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): instruments aiming to improve the technical, legal and regulatory frameworks for expanding RE power plants and grid-connected BESS are developed, introduced and applied in accordance with international standards.
  • Expanding the capacity building offer for key actors in the sub-region: the training offer for a climate-friendly regional electricity market in the ECOWAS region is improved, taking gender aspects into account. The competencies of trainers and experts of the West African Power Pool’s (WAPP) network of regional training centres as well as other regional institutions are strengthened through train-the-trainer courses. Digital training offers are being designed and introduced in a participatory approach.
Female installer of solar PV during a practical examination in ESP Dakar

Last update: May 2022

Additional information