Business
Electricity: WAPP Moves To Connect Nigeria, Others
The West African Power Pool (WPP), has announced plans to begin construction of Nigerian component of the North core transmission line that will connect Nigeria, Benin Republic, Niger and Burkina Faso.
The Chairman of WAPP, Mr Mohamnmed Gur-Usman, said this in Abuja, while responding to questions on the sidelines of a meeting organised to disseminate the operational manual of WAPP.
WAPP is a Cooperation of the national electricity companies in West Africa under the auspices of the ECOWAS.
The members of WAPP are working for the establishment of a reliable power grid for the region and a common market for electricity.
It was founded in the year 2000 with present membership of 14 West African countries.
Gur-Usman, who is also the Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said the transmission line was a project designed to be constructed by four member countries of WAPP.
According to him, the component of the line that concerns Nigeria is about 62 kilometers to other countries.
He said the line would run from Birnin Kebbi in Nigeria to the border, to Niamey in Niger.
He also said that the line would run from Benin Republic from Niamey to Burkina Faso.
According to him, the construction of the line that concerns other countries will be financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the French Development Agency (FDA).
The component financed by AfDB is concentrated on the side of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Niamey in Niger.
“That component has been approved already by the board of AfDB and the agreements signed with those countries.
“The component that concerns Nigeria is about 62 kilometres from Birnin-Kebbi to the border and we are discussing with World Bank to finance it.
“All the studies for it have been carried out including the environmental disclosure.
“For us to be able to supply energy on that line, we also have to build a 330kV double circuit line from Kanji hydropower plant to Birnin-Kebbi which is part of the Northern corridor project of TCN.
“We have done the feasibility study and what is remaining is the validation of the feasibility study which we have hired a consultant to do.
“We are at the final stage of completing the procurement of that contract, everything is starting this year.’’
He further disclosed that the funding of the project that concerns Nigeria would cost 29 million dollars for the transmission line from Birnin-Kebbi to the border of Nigeria and Niger.
“I don’t have the total funding cost for the other countries but the distance of the entire transmission lines is about 700 kilometres. So it is a long distance transmission line’’.
On the progress made on the Southern component of the transmission project, the WAPP Chairman said “the Southern backbone project is a separate project that is under preparation.
“We are doing the environmental impact assessment which is supported by the AfDB, once the study is completed, we will start looking for the financing.
“The grant given is three million dollars and is equal to the amount to pay for the study, they are paying for the contract we entered with the consultant.’’
The chairman also said WAPP in conjunction with the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), was hoping to launch the regional electricity market in June.
He said sensitisation programmes were being done to sensitise member utilities firms on the plan to start the regional electricity market.
“There are several things that are involved in the regional electricity market and synchronisation is just one of them.
“It means that all the electricity that is generated across the sub-region have to be synchronised so that from Nigeria to Cote D’ivoire can have the same power frequency and other places.
“As TCN, we anticipated this and that is why last year, we embarked on the frequency control which we achieved and attained at 39.5 and 30.5 frequency.
“In the last 20 years, this has not been achieved and it enabled WAPP and the rest of the country to synchronise their power.’’
He said the vision of the regional electricity market was also to provide energy security.
“If tomorrow, Nigeria has a problem of gas supply, Nigeria can import energy from Ghana or Burkina Faso, depending on which has cheaper source of energy.”
On if the regional market will ensure improvement in the payment of electricity supplied to international customers, Usman-Gur said:
“We have other mechanism we are putting in place to ensure payment in the market but even as it is, the payment in the international market is better than the local market and we are still working to improve it.’’
He, however, said he could not guarantee that the launch of the regional market would ensure 100 per cent payment of electricity supplied to international customers.
“Whether it will guarantee 100 per cent payment, I can’t tell you because even in the WAPP sub-region like Benin and Niger, the distribution companies are still the weakest link as they are not collecting all the money.
“We are working with WAPP to improve the collection capacities of distribution firms by forming mechanisms that will guarantee payment like this synchronisation.”(NAN)
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The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.