The Chairman, Executive Board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), Engr. Dr. Sule A. Abdulaziz has reiterated the commitment of the Pool towards completing the WAPP North Core Project, a transmission line project linking Nigeria to three countries.
Engr. Dr. Abdulaziz, also the Acting Managing Director/CEO of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), made this known at the 52nd WAPP Executive Board Meeting taking place as part of the 16th Session of the WAPP General Assembly in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
While highlighting key project implementation updates, the WAPP head 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 which would ensure that all fourteen countries in the mainland of ECOWAS are eventually interconnected.
Other projects undertaken within the West African Sub-region he said, include the construction of the 330kV Volta (Ghana) to Lome ‘C’ (Togo) – Sakété (Benin) interconnection line that has been completed and will soon be energized and the WAPP Cote d’Ivoire – Sierra Leone – Guinea (CLSG) which project will also be commissioned very soon.
He noted that WAPP has continued to make giant strides towards the effective operationalization of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity by continuing to harmonize the market rules and agreement by market participants on regulatory issues.
This, he said, will ensure flexibility in the power system and increase trading opportunities for market participants, among others.
He tasked the members with sustained determination towards attaining the set goals of WAPP, saying that even though a lot has been achieved under the current leadership of the Pool, more needs to be done, until the goal of the founding fathers is achieved.
The Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr. Siengui Appolinaire KI, at the hybrid meeting urged members on resilience. According to him, despite the challenges, “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”.
He said new rotating members of the Executive Council, who will have to sit for the next two years and a new Vice-Chairman would be elected, as the former vice Chairman, Mr. Hamidou Traore has been redesignated.
Earlier, while welcoming participants to the meeting, Mr. Baba Ahmed Coulibaly, the Director-General of Sonabel, the power firm hosting the meeting, called for more commitments.
According to a statement by TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, Coulibaly said “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”.
News6 days ago