I.A.M - Magazine - Page 22
Pools: the West African Power Pool (WAPP), Central
African Power Pool (CAPP), Southern Africa Power Pool
(SAPP), Eastern African Power Pool (EAPP), and North
African Power Pool (COMELEC).
These power pools encourage cooperation amongst
member states by promoting coordinated planning of
national and regional power infrastructure to integrate
their power grids and enhance cross-border energy
trade which in turn ensures energy security and
improves energy affordability across the continent.
Ripple Effects Beyond Borders
When nations share electricity across borders, the
advantages extend far beyond keeping the lights on.
Cross-border interconnections strengthen and improve
reliability of power systems, in addition to enhancing the
operational efficiency of the individual countries who are
as a result required to maintain lower spinning reserves
(spare capacity) in their grids or even defer investments.
Further, when drought affects hydropower in one region,
solar, wind or geothermal power from another can fill the
gap. Also, when flooding disrupts power generation or
causes a grid collapse, the grid can be restarted from
interconnection with another grid with surplus capacity.
Time zone differences shift peak demand hours across
regions, creating opportunities for power generation
optimization. Seasonal variations allow better utilization
of precipitation patterns and more efficient management of heating and cooling requirements. This
interconnected approach reduces vulnerability and
improves reliability and energy security.
Phenomenal Impact
The financial impact of regional power integration is
substantial. Power Africa has estimated that increased
electricity trading could save West Africa approximately
$32 billion and Eastern Africa $18.6 billion between 2020
and 2030 alone. These savings come from reduced
need for emergency generation, optimized infrastructure
investment, and economies of scale in power production.
The Eastern Africa countries have experienced a
dramatic increase in cross-border interconnections and
energy trade. In 2010, 280.44 GWh was traded between
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and Rwanda and Burundi
from the shared Ruzizi II hydropower plant.
However, only Uganda and Kenya had a grid interconnection at the time. In 2014, the energy traded increased
four times to 1,211 GWh boosted by the addition of 230
kV interconnection between Ethiopia and Sudan and
Ethiopia and Djibouti. In 2023, a total of 3,217 GWh was
traded amongst eight Eastern Africa countries (Sudan –
Ethiopia – Djibouti – Kenya – Uganda – Tanzania –
Rwanda - Burundi) that included imports from Egypt to
Sudan.
In Eastern Africa, the total lengths of power interconnection
lines has increased from 303 km in 2010 to 2,753 km in 2024.
The impacts of cross-border energy trade have been
AFRICA’S RENEWABLE
ENERGY POTENTIAL:
10,000 GW of solar (only
1% is tapped),
350 GW of hydroelectric,
110 GW of wind,
15 GW of geothermal.
phenomenal throughout the region. Kenya's energy
imports from Ethiopia now exceed 13.4% of the national
energy purchased in the last 6 months of 2024 according
to Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), displacing
the use of thermal units and a corresponding reduction
in pass-through costs to consumers.
In Burundi and Rwanda, imports from the Regional
Rusumo Falls hydropower plant resulted in decommissioning of 35 MW and 30 MW of diesel generators
respectively with Burundi saving USD 17 million from
operational costs and avoided GHG emissions amounting
to 81,608 tonnes CO2eq in 2024. In the case of Djibouti,
the Ethiopia-Djibouti power interconnection saw its
electricity generation costs plummet from US$0.25 to
US$0.10 per kilowatt-hour—a 60% reduction due to
injection of hydropower from Ethiopia.
This dramatic decrease triggered a cascade of positive
effects: customer tariffs dropped by 24%, energy
consumption surged by 170% (from 372 GWh to 631
GWh), and the customer base expanded by 65% (from
42,228 to 69,314 connections).
Environmental Dividends
Perhaps most importantly in our climate-challenged
world, power interconnections enable the large-scale
integration of renewable energy. Hydroelectric plants
with reservoirs provide crucial storage capacity that can
compensate for the variability of solar and wind power.
By connecting regions with complementary renewable
resources, interconnectors create balanced, clean
energy systems that reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
The second phase of the Ethiopia-Djibouti interconnection
alone is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
from 143 ktCO2e to 274 ktCO2e per year, demonstrating
how cross-border power infrastructure can directly
contribute to climate change mitigation.
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