The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) have published the recommendations of a baseline study which looked at the development of a network and continental energy markets, the AfDB said in a statement posted on its website.

"The study, supported by the European Union, is the first step in an ambitious project to create an efficient and competitive energy sector that helps serve Africa's vast unconnected population, which is essential for economic prospects of the continent", specified the same source.

The AfDB, in this context, organized a round table bringing together the various partners at the end of last week, during which the recommendations of the study were discussed.

According to the Financial Institution, African Ministers of Energy requested AUDA-NEPAD to promote a Continental Transport Master Plan during the meeting of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Infrastructure (Transport, Energy and Tourism) which held in Nouakchott and Cairo in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Quoted in the AfDB statement, the CEO of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD said "this will be a game-changer because, in the long term, a continental transmission network will enable energy trade in Africa , as well as outside the continent, with Europe and Asia via existing links".

The baseline study is the first of two phases of the master plan, while the next phase involves the development of the plan itself.

The EU has agreed to support Phase 1 under its EU Technical Assistance Facility (EU TAF) for Sustainable Energy, under the African Union-European Union partnership to harmonize the regulatory framework of the single electricity market in Africa, the AfDB said.

The objectives of the baseline study included: a review of existing master plans developed by each of the five regional power pools in Africa and to identify electricity generation capacity and electricity demand up to 2063 and to develop terms of reference for phase 2.

“Our continent has a vision to develop a single power grid that will ensure a secure, reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity supply to improve the continent's economic prospects, especially for our children.

This can only be achieved with a well-coordinated, widely accepted and highly articulated master plan,” said African Union Commission Director of Energy, Cheikh Bedda.

According to the AfDB, the recommendations of the baseline study include: the establishment of a permanent unit to develop the master plan to produce a transfer of skills within AUDA-NEPAD and the five regional power pools, and the alignment of the plan with existing infrastructure projects, such as those identified under the program for infrastructure development in Africa.

The next steps are to develop the terms of reference for phase two and discuss how the master plan will be funded.

Also quoted by the AfDB in its statement, Kevin Kariuki, Vice President of Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank Group said: "The continental blueprint will provide a holistic roadmap to connect countries to each other within a single regional power pool and to connect the power pools into a single electricity market, promoting energy access and regional integration”.

More than 640 million Africans do not have access to energy, which corresponds to an electricity access rate for African countries of just over 40%, the lowest in the world, notes the AfDB.

The Bank, in this wake, added that energy consumption per capita in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) is 180 kWh, against 13,000 kWh per capita in the United States and 6,500 kWh in Europe. APS