MEDIATRACNET
The West African Power Pool (WAPP) says the regional electricity project plans to connect its transmission lines to Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin dbefore the end of 2023.
The Chairman, Executive Board of WAPP, Sule Abdulaziz, said there was a renewed commitment of the pool to complete the WAPP North Core transmission line project expected to link Nigeria to three other countries.
Abdulaziz was speaking at the
52nd WAPP Executive Board meeting held as part of the 16th Session of the WAPP General Assembly in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Highlighting key project implementation updates, Abdullaziz, who is also the Acting Managing Director/CEO of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said the WAPP North Core Project would interconnect Nigeria, Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Benin.
He said the project scheduled for completion by 2023 was in the implementation phase, with the procurement process under way.
The project, he said, was part of efforts by the regional project to integrate the power systems of the West African countries, by delivering priority projects that would ensure all 14 countries in the mainland of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were eventually interconnected.
Other projects undertaken within the West African sub-region, Abdullaziz said, include the construction of the 330kV Volta (Ghana) to Lome ‘C’ (Togo) – Sakété (Benin) interconnection line that has been completed and would soon be energized, while the WAPP Cote d’Ivoire – Sierra Leone – Guinea (CLSG) would also be commissioned soon.
The WAPP, he said, has continued to make giant strides towards the effective operations of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity by continuing to harmonise the market rules and agreement by market participants on regulatory issues.
The harmonization of the market, he said, would ensure flexibility in the power system and increase trading opportunities for market participants, among others.
Abdullaziz tasked the members of the board to sustain the determination towards attaining the set goals of WAPP, adding that even though a lot has been achieved under the current leadership of the Pool, more needed to be done, to realize the goal of the founding fathers of the project.
The Secretary-General of WAPP, Siengui Appolinaire KI, at the hybrid meeting urged members to be resilient and cooperate.
“Despite the challenges, we must at all costs continue our journey towards the ultimate goal of our institution, which is the implementation of a competitive regional electricity market.
“We absolutely must redouble our efforts to this end, the goal being more than ever within reach,” he said.
He said the new rotating members of the Executive Council, who would have to sit for the next two years and a new Vice-Chairman would be elected, as the former vice chairman, Hamidou Traore, has been redesignated.
Earlier, while welcoming participants to the meeting, the Director-General of Sonabel, the power firm hosting the meeting, Baba Ahmed Coulibaly, called for more commitment towards the completion of the project on schedule.
“In our sub-region, the stakes in the electricity sector are so high that we must rigorously ensure the decisions are implemented on time,” he said.
