This photo taken on Nov. 17, 2023 shows the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Information and Coordination Center of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abomey Calavi, Benin. (Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)
COTONOU, Benin, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The West African Power Pool (WAPP) Information and Coordination Centre of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was inaugurated on Friday in Abomey Calavi, a city in southern Benin.
The center aims to promote and develop power generation and transmission infrastructure, and to coordinate electricity exchanges among ECOWAS member States.
It is also a platform for coordinating the operation of the WAPP, which will enable national power grids to be integrated into a unified regional electricity market, to ensure a reliable and competitively-priced supply of electricity to the people of ECOWAS member states in the medium and long term.
This interconnected network will make possible the sales and purchases of electricity starting from the first quarter of 2024, regardless of geographical location in the region, said Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, the vice president of the ECOWAS Commission.
"Only 52 percent of West Africa's population currently has access to electricity. For those who have access to it, the reliability of the supply remains a major challenge: prolonged outages, unexpected power outages, the destruction of household appliances and electrical equipment is their daily fate," said Kwawu Mensan Gaba, practice manager of the World Bank.
The WAPP, created by the decision of the heads of state and government at the 29th ECOWAS Summit, has covered 14 of the 15 countries in the regional economic community. ■
A staff member works at West African Power Pool (WAPP) Information and Coordination Center of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abomey Calavi, Benin, Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo by Seraphin Zounyekpe/Xinhua)
