Mwanga CMP Platform

The African Continental Master Plan - A continental approach to Africa’s energy future

Demand for electricity in Africa is expected to more than triple by the year 2040, due to a variety of factors such as rapid industrialization, migration to cities, rising household incomes, and effects of climate change. This will require a concerted effort to plan and coordinate power generation and transmission infrastructure on a continental scale. Besides, the creation of the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) - one of the largest electricity markets in the world, covering a population of more than 1.3 billion requires physical interconnection of Africa's continental energy infrastructure.

This is why, in 2019, African energy ministers tasked the African Union Development Agency to lead the development of this interconnection under a Continental Master Plan (CMP) for electricity generation and transmission. The CMP aims to curb the electricity deficit and allow a well-balanced sharing of affordable, reliable and clean energy resources. It brings together over 100 African stakeholders to rethink Africa’s energy planning and co-create solutions to tackle energy poverty.

The CMP is the masterplan for Africa’s Green Vision, creating one grid for one continent. It is implemented by AUDA-NEPAD, supported by the European Union - Global Technical Assistance Facility (EU-GTAF), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Masterplanning Africa’s Single Electricity Market

Creating a long-term continent-wide interconnection of Africa’s continental energy infrastructure requires a planning process to increase regional electricity interconnections. The CMP is designed to provide a strategic roadmap for connecting Africa’s five power pools (CAPP, COMELEC, EAPP, SAPP and WAPP). It is de facto a blueprint for the AfSEM.

Africa’s potential to become a leader in green energy

Green energy for Africa is a worldwide growth objective. The volume of green energy investments in Africa will not only impact the socioeconomic development of the continent but could influence the entire global economy.

The CMP has already brought significant value on many levels, including:

• Bringing together a core team of African energy modelers from key institutions such as AUDA-NEPAD, African Power Pools, and the AfDB.
• Building strategic partnerships for technical training with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• Developing a common Continental Energy Information System.

Linking up Africa’s electricity infrastructure: achievements to date

At the core of the CMP lies a collaborative effort between the five African Regional Power Pools: Central African Power Pool (CAPP), East African Power Pool (EAPP), Northern African Power Pool (COMELEC), Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and Western African Power Pool (WAPP). Through this highly participative approach, the CMP has already reached several major milestones in its goal towards a single electricity grid for Africa:

• Assessing the reference case continental demand forecast by 2040 Deliverable 2 part 1 Factsheet and Deliverable 2 part 2 Factsheet
• Assessing available resources and cost projections for energy technologies Deliverable 3 Factsheet
• Identifying planning scenarios to tackle the challenges of the 5 African regions in line with the future aspirations outlined in Africa’s Agenda 2063 Deliverable 4 Factsheet
• Demonstrating how information technologies can support the storage and update of key energy data Deliverable 5 Factsheet

The figure below shows the timelines for the development of the CMP.

A major component of the EU-Africa cooperation on energy

Building regional electricity interconnections and market integration is one of the pillars of the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative, with a shared ambition to increase access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all Africans and contribute to Africa’s socio-economic development.

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