W/ African power pool to complete North Core transmission line by 2023 –Chairman

Mr Sule Abdulaziz , the Chairman, Executive Board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), has reiterated the commitment of the pool towards completing the WAPP North Core Project.

Abdulaziz, who is also the Acting Managing Director, TCN, made this known at the 52nd WAPP Executive Board meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which was part of the 16th session of the WAPP General Assembly.

Mrs Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, in a statement in Abuja, on Friday, said that the North-Core transmission line project would link Nigeria with Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin.

While highlighting key project implementation updates, Abdulaziz said 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, that would ensure that all 14 countries in the mainland of ECOWAS are eventually interconnected.”

He listed other projects undertaken within the West African sub-region to include the construction of the 330kV Volta (Ghana) to Lome ‘C’ (Togo) – Sakété (Benin) interconnection line that has been completed and would soon be energised.

Abdulaziz said that the WAPP Cote d’Ivoire – Sierra Leone – Guinea (CLSG) project would also be commissioned very soon.

He noted that WAPP had continued to take giant strides towards the effective operationalisation of the ECOWAS regional electricity programme, by continuing to harmonise the market rules and agreement by market participants on regulatory issues.

“This will ensure flexibility in the power system and increase trading opportunities for market participants, among others”, he said, while tasking members to be determined to attain the set goals of the pool.

He said that although a lot had been achieved under the current leadership of the pool, more still needed to be done, until the goal of the founding fathers was achieved.

Also speaking, the Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr. Siengui KI, urged members to be resilient, saying, “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.”

“The new Executive Council, will have to sit for the next two years and a new Vice-Chairman will be elected, as the former vice Chairman, Mr. Hamidou Traore has been re-designated”, he added.

Earlier, while welcoming participants to the meeting, Mr. Baba Coulibaly, the Director-General of Sonabel, the power firm hosting the meeting, called for more commitments.

“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”, he said.