A regional electrification project of 20,000 villages in West Africa under study in Lomé – Togo-Presse

A regional validation workshop for the feasibility study of the regional electrification project of 20,000 villages in West Africa (PRODEL 20,000) will be held, from October 22, 2024, in Lomé . It is organized by the Ministère des Mines et des Ressources énergétiques, in collaboration with the Communauté Economique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ECOWAS). During three days, the stakeholders, experts, I will analyze the data collected, formulate the relevant recommendations, with a view to having a valid document accepted by all.

From stakeholders to the workshop.

The Communauté Economique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ECOWAS) has set itself ambitious goals in terms of sustainable energy and access to energy to be achieved in 2030 and beyond . 2050 or more. Dans cette dynamique, la politique actualisée de l’énergie de cette Communauté adopted, in 2023, by the Heads of State and Government, registered as a strategic objective of “guarantee universal access to quality, reliable, durable and affordable electrical services ». Thus, faced with a low rate of access to electricity in the region, the Commission has made rural electrification one of its priorities, through the implementation of several projects, not the electrification of 20,000 villages in West Africa (PRODEL 20,000). It aims to allow populations to access electricity and energy services, while improving their living conditions. Read the previous ID project, eventually, 20,000 villages to electrify in the Member States, in a horizon of 5 to 10 years. To do this, the solutions envisaged are those for the extension of existing or nearby distribution networks, or for the electrification of the sun in the network.

In this regard, 15,291 towns have been selected, of which 14,042 will be electrified by network extension, and 1,249 by off-grid systems. For Togo, 700 villages will be affected by the project.

Opening the work, the cabinet director of the Ministry of Mines and Energy Resources, M. Abbas Aboulaye, on behalf of his minister, emphasized that this project is of capital importance for the region. Because the electricity access rate in the area is currently around 54% and less than 10% in rural areas. The energy consumption per inhabitant, of the order of 268kwh per year, is one of the lowest in the world. There are therefore close to 180 million people who do not have access to this resource. According to its objective, the project is oriented towards an ambitious and transformative vision of the community, for the energy sector, engine of development. To this end, M. Aboulaye invited the stakeholders to work in an economic collaboration, to contribute to the effectiveness of the realization of PRODEL 20,000.

For his part, M. Barros Bacar Banjai, resident representative of the ECOWAS in Togo, reiterated his commitment to work towards the success of this project which directly affects the population’s lifestyle, and which is in line with the 2050 vision of the region and its strategic objectives. According to him, through the present atelier, the project is in a crucial phase of preparation. Because the quality of the results of the feasibility study will allow resources to be easily mobilized from technical and financial partners for its implementation.Kpinzou EDJEOU