ECOWAS power market endorsed

. ECOWAS power market endorsed The ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) has endorsed the first phase of the proposed West African regional electricity market plan, proposed by a ministerial directive in 2013.

The project got endorsed at the sixth ERERA meeting in Accra, Ghana, attended by energy ministers, regulatory authorities in the power sector, as well as generation, transmission and distribution firms. The general secretariat of the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) was also represented at the meeting. WAPP is working on various bilateral contracts for connecting to, and using the regional transmission network.

Among other things, the stakeholders agreed to maintain the status quo as far as existing contracts for cross-border electricity trade are concerned.

The ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) is the regional regulator for cross-border electricity interconnections in West Africa.

The desire of Member-States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to realise electricity interconnections through the joint implementation and sharing of energy resources of the region, has manifested in the adoption of an Energy Protocol designed to put in place the appropriate legal and institutional environment for the development of the electricity sector of West Africa.

Within the framework of the Energy Protocol and the West African Power Pool Program (WAPP) , the Member States of ECOWAS, in January 2008 established the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) by Supplementary Act A/SA.2/1/08, as a specialised institution of ECOWAS. ERERA’s main objective is to ensure the regulation of interstate electricity exchanges and to give appropriate support to national regulatory bodies or entities of the Member States.

ERERA’s governance structure is provided by Council Regulation C/REG.27/12/07 of December 15, 2007 on the Composition, Organisation, Functions and Operations of the Authority. ERERA's headquarters is located in Accra, Ghana.