ECOWAS Electricity Interconnection Project Faces Challenges Amid Regional Tensions

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – A major electricity interconnection project involving Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin is encountering significant delays and challenges, as reported to the Burkinabè Minister of Energy, Yacouba Zabré Gouba. The project, crucial for regional energy integration, is part of an ECOWAS master plan and faces uncertainties due to insecurity and strained relationships among participating nations.

According to Burkina Information Agency, The general secretariat of the West African Pool (WAPP), leading the Interconnexion Dorsale Nord project, communicated the difficulties to the Burkinabe government. The Secretary General of WAPP, Siengui Appolinaire Ki, after a meeting with Minister Gouba, expressed concerns about the impact of these challenges on the project’s cost. “With these challenges of insecurity and delay that we are facing, if we are careful, this will lead to additional costs on the project,” Ki stated, as quoted by the minister’s communications services.

The project’s financing, amounting to US $692 million, comes from a consortium of international donors including the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the government of Nigeria. The interconnection includes a high voltage line (330kV and 225 kV) spanning over 900 km from Birim Kebbi in Nigeria to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, passing through Niamey in Niger, and connecting Malanville in Benin, with a rural electrification component in some areas.

Launched in February 2022 by the then presidents of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, and Ghana, Nana Akufo-Ado, who was also the current president of ECOWAS, the project aims to develop electrical energy production and transmission in West Africa. However, the project faced a setback in August 2023 when Nigeria, following the rise of General Tiani to power in Niamey, unilaterally cut off its electricity supply to Niger. This move, in line with ECOWAS’s punitive decisions, aimed to weaken Niger and influence the political situation in favor of former President Mohamed Bazoum.

The ongoing challenges highlight the complexity of regional energy projects in the context of political instability and security concerns in West Africa.