ECOWAS parliamentarians completed a three-day monitoring mission at the West African Power Pool headquarters in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, reviewing a climate-focused regional electricity programme backed by German Development Cooperation.
The mission assessed what the ProCEM II programme — formally the Promotion of a Climate-Friendly Regional Electricity Market — has achieved and where it has run into difficulty across its three beneficiary institutions: WAPP, the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.
Opening the visit, the WAPP Secretary General, Abdoulaye Dia, spoke alongside André Roenne, GIZ Resident Director in Benin and ProMERC II Programme Manager, and Hon. Fanta Conte, Chairperson of the Committee on Energy and Mines, who led the parliamentary oversight delegation.
Their discussions covered the challenges of regional energy integration, progress in developing the Regional Electricity Market and the importance of institutional cooperation, according to a report from the Economic Community of West African States.
Over the course of the mission, the lawmakers were briefed on WAPP’s work on electricity interconnection infrastructure, its coordination of the regional power system and the steps taken towards establishing the Regional Electricity Market.
Presentations also covered the activities of ERERA and ECREEE.
The delegation toured the WAPP Information and Coordination Centre, where members were shown facilities that support, among other functions, real-time monitoring of cross-border electricity exchanges. The parliamentarians commended the infrastructure and its contribution to regional power integration.
At the close of the visit, the delegation proposed holding an information session in Abuja in the coming months to deepen its understanding of the Regional Electricity Market and what it offers West African populations.
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