AfSEM is among interventions aimed at facilitating sustainable development of the African electricity sector, through the integrated continental electricity market based on the 2019 AfCFTA Agreement.
by Blue Africa News
The quest to enhance Africa’s energy access and advance continental integration will be effectively realized through the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), according to Sara Ibrahim Elhag, head of the energy division at the African Union Commission (AUC).
Speaking during the second AfSEM electricity forum in Cairo, Egypt recently, Elhag said AfSEM is an initiative by Africa for Africa, designed to deliver a single, integrated electricity market across the continent by 2040.
“When fully implemented, it will establish one continental grid, ensuring stability in supply, affordability for all, and increased access to modern energy services,” she noted. The AfSEM process, she added, will not only connect grids but also integrate off-grid and mini-grid markets, ensuring no community is left behind.
“AfSEM provides an enabling environment for investment and financing. It creates stability, transparency, and a platform for public and private sector participation,” said Shehu Ibrahim Khaleel, senior energy advisor at the AUC.
The AfSEM forum in Egypt coincided with the 21st Congress of the Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA), where participants reflected on AfSEM’s progress, celebrated milestones of the Continental Power System Master Plan (CMP), and set new priorities for realizing Africa’s vision of “One Grid, One Market, One Vision” by 2040.
Beyond policy frameworks, participants called for urgency in translating frameworks into tangible interconnections. “Between 2030 and 2040, we need to begin connecting power pools,” said Didier Tella, APUA Director General.
AfSEM, according to the Africa Union (AU), is one among several targeted interventions aimed at facilitating sustainable development of the African electricity sector, through the integrated continental electricity market based on the 2019 AfCFTA Agreement, with a view of giving African households, businesses and industries more secure, sustainable, reliable, competitive, and affordable energy.
Creation of AfSEM at the continental level started in 2015, in cooperation with the European Union (EU) through the AU program on harmonisation of regulatory frameworks for the Electricity Market in Africa.
AfSEM seeks to be the largest single electricity market in the world covering 55-member states, and serving a population of over 1.3 billion people.
To ensure AfSEM’s success, African energy ministers in 2019 tasked the African Union Development Agency (AUDA) to lead the development of the African interconnection, under CMP for electricity generation and transmission.
The CMP brings together over 100 African stakeholders to rethink Africa’s energy planning and co-create solutions to tackle energy poverty, curb electricity deficit and allow a well-balanced sharing of affordable, reliable and clean energy resources across Africa.
Oliver Ochieng, Blue Africa News