Africa’s ever-growing population and economy mean that the continent faces a pressing need for reliable, sustainable energy sources, according to experts. At present, over 600 million Africans have no access to electricity. The problem is not just a shortage of electricity, but also a mismatch between electricity demand and supply in different parts of the continent. Experts propose power pools as one of the lasting solutions, and as you’ll see in this report, power pools could help the continent improve its energy situation.
Power pools, also known as regional electricity interconnection projects, involve the integration of power grids in neighboring countries, enabling electricity to be shared, generating capacities pooled and energy distribution optimized. One example is the Iringa-Shinyanga transmission line in Tanzania, an essential link in the East African power pool.
This transmission line in particular, in which the African development Bank is involved in, from the electricity highway from Ethiopia down to Southern Africa has got a capacity of 2000 megawatts. In other words, the countries along this powerline can actually trade 2000 MW of power in either direction, which would help especially in times when some countries are experiencing droughts and don’t have enough hydropower generation. In that case, power would have to come from other parts of the continent. In other words, if you are connected to power, you’ll still have reliable supply whether the rains are falling or not.
Andrew MUGUWA, Principal Power Engineer at the AfDB – United Republic of Tanzania
The concept of power pools is a solution proposed by experts to African nations to bridge the continent’s energy deficit and foster regional cooperation. The three main power pools operating in Africa are the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP).
Every country doesn’t have the same time zone, so, there might be times where your country has electricity but that might be wasted because there are not enough people taking it at that time. That is when you can sell some of the electricity to others and get income while you are still building your infrastructure. Because it is not just about I have power, it is about I want power that the lights are not going to go off.
Damilola OGUNBIYI, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All – Nigeria
The effectiveness of power pools and aggregators and their contribution to the African economy have yet to be validated. However, if implemented with sound measures, they can solve Africa’s long-standing electricity problem.
