As regional efforts by African leaders to ensure adequate power take shape, the World Bank has lauded the continental projection. The global lender in a report titled, “Powering Africa: The Transformational Impact of Regional Energy Projects in West Africa,” observed that the countries were working to create larger markets and benefit from economies of scale. According to the bank, in the energy sector, political commitment, better regulations, and publicprivate financing are improving electricity access and expansion across the continent. It said: “Through the International Development Association (IDA), the part of the World Bank that focuses on the world’s lowincome countries, the World Bank is promoting regional cooperation with African countries, regional organizations, and other development partners. “One key initiative is the West African Power Pool (WAPP), which is helping boost energy electricity supply in 14 countries, benefiting 57 per cent (more than 244 million people) of the population in West Africa. “Other initiatives recently completed or currently underway to achieve universal electricity access by 2030 include the Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra LeoneGuinea Interconnector project (CLSG), the North Core Interconnector project, the Senegal River Basin Development Organisation’s Transmission Expansion project (OMVS), and The Gambia River Basin Development Organisation Interconnection project (OMVG).” Giving highlights of the results so far, tye World Bank recalled the construction of a 1,303 km 225 Kilovolt (kV) transmission line connecting the electricity grids of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (CLSG) has facilitated cross-border electricity trade and delivered affordable, renewable, and abundant electricity to approximately 2.8 million people across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This initiative has also contributed to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, amounting to about 13.8 million tons of CO2. A newly built 228 km 225 kV transmission line connecting Kayes in Mali and Tambacounda in Senegal has significantly improved electricity supply and access for 404,000 people in Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The Gambia River Development Organization (OMVG) Interconnection has helped improve access to clean, lower-cost, and more reliable electricity service for more than 2.5 million households and businesses, equivalent to 15 million beneficiaries in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia. The construction of a 913 km 330/225 kV transmission line connecting Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria under the North Core Interconnection project is expected to successfully deliver 600 MW of affordable, renewable, and abundant electricity to Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo, and provide rural electrification to approximately 1.2 million people across Niger and Burkina Faso. The bank, however, said that achieving universal electricity access was a global challenge and an urgent priority in sub-Saharan Africa. “In Western and Central Africa, only 52 per cent of the population had access to electricity in 2020. Major obstacles include insufficient electricity supply due to weak institutional capacity, inefficient electricity markets and power utilities, and high power generation costs from reliance on thermal generation from burning oil, coal, and other fuels. “These issues hinder the delivery of social services, the operation of businesses, income generation, and the region’s economic transformation,” the bank said. It also highlighted that the Group’s regional integration approach in the energy sector in Africa supported the development of more efficient and resilient regional electricity markets (power pools) through the WAPP master plan. According to the World Bank, “the master plan covers the entire WAPP region (from Nigeria to Senegal) and includes regional priority generation and interconnector projects. While it includes a long list of projects, far more than North Core, CLSG, OMVS and OMVG, WAPP is involved in the preparation and implementation of only a select few. “The key benefits of regional pools include: Reducing electricity supply costs: Regional pools facilitate regional trade, which is how cheaper generation sources can displace more expensive generation sources; Improving security of supply: Connection of a wider set of diverse generation resources; and Allowing economies of scale to be captured, particularly in RE generation: Larger power stations that are too big for the small national power markets of West Africa can be developed, including hydro and solar PV. “The World Bank Group is working to reach these benefits by investing in power generation and cross-country electricity interconnections and supporting policy and regulatory harmonisation to facilitate cross-border electricity trade. These efforts help reduce costs, improve system efficiency, and enhance resilience.