The Chairman, Executive Board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), Engr. Dr. Sule A. Abdulaziz has reiterated the commitment of the sub-regional body towards completing the WAPP North Core Project, a trans-national transmission line project that will link Nigeria to three ECOWAS countries.

Engr. Dr. Abdulaziz, also the Acting Managing Director/CEO of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), made this known at the 52nd WAPP Executive Board Meeting which took place as part of the 16th Session of the WAPP General Assembly in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso recently.

While highlighting key project implementation updates, the WAPP head stated that “the WAPP North Core Project that seeks to interconnect Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin is in the implementation phase with the procurement process underway. The project is expected to be completed by 2023 and is part of efforts of the WAPP to integrate the power systems of West African countries by delivering priority projects which would ensure that all fourteen countries in the mainland of ECOWAS are eventually interconnected”.  

He stated further that North Core Project was among key priority projects undertaken by WAPP under its strategic plan to interconnect the countries of the sub-region. Other projects undertaken under the scheme, include the construction of the 330kV Volta (Ghana) to Lome 'C' (Togo) - Sakété (Benin) interconnection line that has been completed and will soon be energized as well as the WAPP Cote d'Ivoire – Sierra Leone – Guinea (CLSG) project, which is due for commissioning in no distant future.

He noted that WAPP has continued to make giant strides towards the effective operationalization of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity by continuing to harmonize the Market Rules and agreement by market participants on regulatory issues. This, he said, will ensure flexibility in the power system and increase trading opportunities for market participants, among others.   

He tasked the members to sustain the determination and momentum towards attaining the set goals of WAPP, remarking that notwithstanding the significant achievements that the body has recorded under the current leadership of the Pool, more needed to be done, until the goal of the founding fathers was achieved.

The Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr. Siengui Appolinaire KI, urged members during the meeting to remain resilient towards the pursuit of the objectives of WAPP. According to him, 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 new rotating members of the Executive Council, who will have to sit for the next two years and a new Vice-Chairman would be elected, as the former vice Chairman, Mr. Hamidou Traore has been re-designated.

Earlier, while welcoming participants to the meeting, Mr. Baba Ahmed Coulibaly, the Director-General of Sonabel, the Burkinabe state-owned electricity company which played host to the meeting, called for more commitment, stressing that “in our sub-region, the stakes in the electricity sector are so high that we must rigorously ensure that the decisions are implemented on time”.

Ndidi Mbah GM, Public Affairs