Accra, the capital of Ghana, is hosting a regional workshop to validate the study on the update of the ECOWAS Energy Policy from September 7 to 9, 2022. This workshop, which falls within the framework of the program “Improvement of the Governance of the Energy Sector in West Africa (AGoSE-AO)” aims to carry out a review of the vision, the strategic objectives and the implementation of the updated ECOWAS Energy Policy and finally to validate it.
Since the current ECOWAS energy policy is 40 years old since it dates from 1982, the ECOWAS Commission has deemed it necessary to provide the region with a new policy due to the evolving context of energy transition and other major challenges to be met in the future.
It is within this framework that, with the support of the European Union, the Regional Program for the Improvement of Energy Sector Governance implemented by ECOWAS has provided for a component relating to the revision of said policy. The firm NTU International was selected to conduct this work, one of the deliverables of which is at the heart of the discussions at this meeting. The Accra workshop takes place following a participatory process around five (5) sessions.
Participating in this workshop, representatives of ECOWAS Member States, the European Union, the ECOWAS Energy and Mines Directorate as well as the ECOWAS specialized agencies in charge of energy (ERERA, WAPP and ECREEE), national energy structures and certain regional institutions. The official ceremony to launch the activities of this workshop was marked by several speeches.
After thanking the Government of Ghana for hosting this meeting and the European Union for its support in the implementation of this activity, Commissioner Sédiko DOUKA in charge of Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization of the ECOWAS especially returned, during his speech, to the expected results of this workshop in his words: ” the expected results of this important study will contribute, without a doubt, to the achievement of the objectives of the Sustainable Energy Initiative for all of the United Nations, a strong commitment of ECOWAS Member States, at the international level. He also added that the updated ECOWAS energy policy will make it possible to define, among other things, the best energy mix for the region, the need to ensure universal access to modern energy services under the best quality and sustainability and at the lowest cost.
This ceremony also saw the intervention by videoconference of Mrs. Anastasia Oikonomou, Representative of the European Union. She did not fail to point out that the updated ECOWAS Energy Policy is a long-awaited dream under AGoSE, the EU-funded $32 million technical assistance program for energy sector governance in Africa from West.
According to her, once adopted, the updated ECOWAS energy policy will be key to driving energy investments in the region. It will also serve to position West Africa as the first Single Electricity Market on the Continent.
In his official opening address of this workshop, the Honorable Andrew MERCER, the Deputy Minister of Energy of Ghana recalled the importance of the energy sector in stimulating sustainable development, attracting investments and creating jobs in the countries of the West African sub-region. After calling on the technical and financial partners to strengthen their support for the energy sector in the ECOWAS region, the Vice-Minister concluded his speech with a message of hope: ” I am confident that the development and implementation of the updated ECOWAS Energy Policy will streamline already existing initiatives and spark new innovative projects to promote the supply of energy in a reliable, cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner ”.
It should be recalled that the program ” Improvement of Governance of the Energy Sector in West Africa (AGoSE-AO) ” designed under the cooperation with the Commission of the European Union (EU) within the framework of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) aims to establish the foundations enabling West African States to achieve the three objectives of the United Nations “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative (SE4All Initiative) for 2030 which are: (i) ensure universal access to modern and clean energy services; (ii) to double the share of renewable energies in the overall energy mix; and (iii) double the overall rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
The AGoSE-WA program is implemented by ECOWAS with the technical assistance of NTU International through a team of Consultants.
