WAPP to Launch Second Phase of Regional Electricity Market Early Next Year

By Adedapo Adesanya

The West African Power Pool (WAPP) says the second phase of the regional electricity market is expected to launch early next year to strengthen cross-border electricity trading and improve power supply across the sub-region.

WAPP Secretary-General, Mr Abdoulaye Dia, disclosed this at the organisation’s 68th Executive Board meeting in Lomé, Togo, according to a statement by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Mr Dia said WAPP was implementing measures to strengthen institutions and establish an independent system and market operator, including functional and accounting unbundling, while ensuring operational continuity during the transition.

He said the process includes functional and accounting unbundling, as well as an orderly transition that will allow the WAPP Information and Coordination Centre to maintain operational continuity during the second phase of the regional electricity market.

Mr Dia stated that the organisation’s progress and increased visibility had attracted new partnerships, reaffirming the secretariat’s commitment to developing an integrated, reliable and competitive regional electricity system ahead of the planned market launch.

The board also discussed a restructuring study to align the regional market with best practices and reduce political interference.

WAPP Executive Board Chairman, Mr Sule Abdulaziz, who was re-elected for another three-year term, said the market required sound legal, institutional and financial frameworks, reliable data and effective governance.

The chairman also urged member utilities to fulfil their financial obligations, describing statutory contributions as critical to WAPP’s autonomy and operational capacity.

“Statutory contributions are not a formality; they are the basis of WAPP’s autonomy and capacity to act,” he said.

He also urged member utilities to settle outstanding contributions, describing statutory payments as essential to the organisation’s autonomy and operational capacity.

The board adopted the Charter of the Forum for Women in Energy in West Africa and a memorandum of understanding with the Millennium Challenge Account Ivory Coast.

It also reviewed membership applications from four utilities: Nigeria’s Konexa, Senegal’s SOGESART and SOGEOH, and Niger’s HOLDEN-Niger SARL. The applications are expected to be ratified at the WAPP General Assembly before the end of the year.