The West African Power Pool (WAPP) has announced the hosting of 19th session of its General Assembly from November 25 to 29, 2024, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

This major event, organized in collaboration with CI-ENERGIES, is bringing together key stakeholders in the energy sector across West Africa to discuss progress in the integration of the regional electricity market and the challenges ahead.

This year’s theme, “Advancing the Regional Electricity Market: Overcoming Barriers and Building a Resilient Competitive Power Market,” underscores the critical importance of regional collaboration to achieve energy security and sustainable economic development in West Africa.

The WAPP General Assembly serves as a unique platform to:

• Highlight the progress made toward achieving WAPP’s vision of creating an integrated and efficient regional electricity market.
• Identify the key challenges hindering the full integration of the region’s electricity systems, such as technical constraints, regulatory inconsistencies, infrastructure gaps, and political barriers.
• Define new strategizes for the organization to attaining the institution goals despite the identified barriers and strengthen collaboration between member states, regional institutions, and international partners.

The agenda for the General Assembly will feature a wide range of sessions and events, including:

• A joint meeting of WAPP committees, focused on presenting activity reports and finalizing a consolidated report.
• The WAPP Executive Board meeting, where strategic decisions will be made concerning the organization’s future.
• The 43rd Coordination Meeting of WAPP Technical and Financial Partners, dedicated to evaluating progress on WAPP’s projects and initiatives and exploring opportunities for investment and financing of strategic energy projects.

• According to the report distributed by the APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the 19th session of the WAPP General Assembly, the highlight of the event, featuring high-level speeches, the confirmation of WAPP’s new Secretary General, the adoption of key resolutions, and strategic discussions on the future of the regional electricity market.

It added that the 19th session of the WAPP General Assembly is a must-attend event for anyone interested in the development of the energy sector in West Africa and the participants will have the opportunity to network with industry experts, share knowledge, and contribute to shaping the future of the regional electricity market.

GIK/APA