West Africa has taken another major step towards an integrated regional electricity market, following the signing of an Inter-grid Operators Agreement by 17 Transmission System Operators at the 21st General Assembly of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) in Conakry, Guinea.
The agreement is expected to strengthen cross border electricity transmission and facilitate coordinated operations among national power grids across the sub-region.
The two day General Assembly, held on November 6 and 7, 2027, brought together Energy Ministers, electricity utility chief executives, transmission operators and international partners from across the West African sub-region to review progress on regional electricity integration and discuss the next phase of the regional power market.
Declaring the session open, Guinea’s Prime Minister and Head of Government, Amadou Oury Bah, called on WAPP member states to embrace regional electricity complementarity rather than pursue isolated national energy systems.
Representing President Mamadi Doumbouya, the Prime Minister said regional cooperation, shared standards and collective performance were essential to building a sustainable West African energy community.
He described electricity as fundamental to national sovereignty, economic competitiveness, social progress and stability, noting that the interconnection of the 15 countries in the sub-region demonstrated the possibilities of collective action.
Bah reaffirmed Guinea’s commitment to regional energy integration, highlighting the country’s strategic hydropower assets, including the Kaleta and Souapiti dams, as well as proposed projects such as Koukoutamba, Sambangou and Amaria.
He said these projects could position Guinea as a major regional electricity supplier and strengthen energy solidarity across West Africa.
Addressing the Assembly, Guinea’s Minister of Energy, Laye Sékou Camara, called for concrete decisions, stronger institutional governance and greater accountability among member states.
He emphasised that expanding national electricity access and strengthening regional power exchanges were complementary objectives, stressing that installed generation capacity alone did not guarantee electricity supply without adequate transmission infrastructure.
Camara described regional interconnection as a form of mutual insurance among countries, recalling how Guinea benefited from electricity support from Senegal following the fire at the Coronthie fuel depot in December 2023.
He also called for credible financial support mechanisms, compliance with common market rules, stronger institutional capacity and increased participation of women in the energy sector.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the WAPP Executive Board, Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, announced that the second phase of the regional electricity market is expected to commence in early 2027.
The new phase will introduce a competitive day-ahead electricity market, allowing participating countries to trade electricity based on supply and demand through an organised, transparent and non discriminatory framework.
Abdulaziz described the development as a significant milestone, noting that investments in transmission infrastructure, common operating rules and regional institutions over the past two decades must now translate into a functional electricity market.
He explained that the transition would require strict market discipline, reliable real time data exchange, accurate metering, credible settlement arrangements and effective management of transmission congestion and financial risks.
He further disclosed that ongoing institutional reforms would establish an independent system and market operator, separating system operations from market operations to strengthen transparency and fairness in the regional electricity market.
On financial sustainability, Abdulaziz highlighted the proposed Liquidity Enhancement Revolving Fund as an important mechanism for strengthening confidence in cross-border electricity transactions. He also urged member states to prioritise the payment of statutory contributions to sustain WAPP’s operations.
Earlier, WAPP Secretary General, Mr. Abdoulaye Dia, highlighted the successful synchronisation of the electricity networks of the 15 West African countries for four hours and five minutes on November 8, 2025.
He said the next synchronisation test, scheduled for November 2026, would target 48 hours of continuous synchronisation as part of efforts to consolidate regional grid stability and prepare for permanent synchronisation.
Dia also highlighted progress on the regional electricity tariff framework, including the transmission tariff methodology, tariff calculation procedure and market fee, following decisions adopted in 2026 by the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority.
He said WAPP remained committed to transforming regional interconnection into practical, sustainable and structured cooperation capable of improving electricity availability, security of supply and economic development.
The Assembly was held under the theme: “Consolidating the Regional Electricity Market as a Lever of Transformation and Resilience for West Africa.”
Also speaking, the Director-General of Electricité de Guinée (EDG), El Hadji Gando Barry, stressed the shared responsibility of WAPP members to provide reliable, accessible and sustainable electricity, noting that regional integration would enable countries to maximise their different energy resources and strengthen solidarity among national power systems.
The signing of the Inter-grid Operators Agreement by 17 Transmission System Operators marked a key outcome of the Assembly, providing a framework for coordinated operations across interconnected electricity networks.
The meeting also reviewed progress towards completing the synchronisation of regional power grids, launching the day ahead and bilateral spot electricity markets in early 2027, and finalising the institutional arrangements required for effective market operations.
