As Africa grapples with chronic power shortages that stifle economic growth and leave hundreds of millions in the dark, regional electricity integration is emerging as a powerful solution to enhance energy security, cut costs and unlock investment.
According to the African Energy Chamber’s State of African Energy 2026 Outlook, the continent’s five established regional power pools — Southern African (SAPP), Western African (WAPP), Eastern African (EAPP), Central African (CAPP) and North African — are pivotal in facilitating cross-border trade, sharing resources and coordinating policies to create larger, more resilient markets.
Regional electricity integration could be a game-changer for Africa, enabling countries to develop alternative offtake options, reduce project risks and achieve economies of scale in infrastructure development.
Southern African Power Pool leads the way
The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) stands out as the most advanced. With a robust institutional framework, extensive grid interconnections and a transparent market, SAPP has optimized resource use and enabled efficient trading among its members. It serves as a blueprint for the continent, allowing nations to draw on diversified generation sources — from hydropower in Zambia to coal in South Africa — for greater reliability.
Yet even in this mature pool, challenges persist. In 2023, only 7.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) were traded, representing a mere 2% of total regional demand of 344 TWh. Bilateral contracts dominate, accounting for about 80% of trade, while the day-ahead market (DAM) handles just 13%. In contrast, mature European markets trade over 24% of consumption through such spot mechanisms. Transmission congestion has eased somewhat — blocked DAM trades dropped from over 40% pre-2018 to 1.3% — but this reflects reduced activity rather than major infrastructure upgrades.
Progress in West and East Africa
The West African Power Pool (WAPP) has advanced cross-border connections and boosted trade, supported by projects like the CLSG interconnector linking Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Recent milestones include a full regional grid synchronization trial in late 2025 using advanced orchestration software, setting the stage for permanent integration in 2026.
The Eastern Africa Power Pool pushes forward with large-scale interconnections, though political fragmentation, infrastructure gaps and security issues slow momentum. Central Africa lags furthest behind, with minimal trade and limited networks, while North Africa — boasting advanced infrastructure — prioritizes bilateral deals and exports to Europe over deeper intra-African ties.
Path to a single continental market
Underpinning these efforts is the African Union’s ambitious African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), which seeks to harmonize regulations, standards and planning to forge the world’s largest electricity market by 2040, serving over 1.3 billion people.
Financing remains the biggest hurdle. Public debt and fiscal pressures limit government funding for massive transmission projects. The Outlook highlights innovative public-private partnership models — Build-Own-Operate, Build-Own-Operate-Transfer, Build-Transfer-Operate, and Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance — as essential bridges.
Examples include Rwanda’s Kigali Power Transmission Project and the CLSG initiative, backed by multilateral lenders and regional governments.
“By leveraging private investment alongside government support, these frameworks can mobilize capital, technology and expertise to construct and operate critical transmission infrastructure,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.
Ayuk emphasized that regional integration promises lower costs, improved reliability and stronger investment flows, laying the foundation for a more secure, efficient and renewable-powered Africa.
With demand surging amid industrialization and population growth, these power pools offer a scalable path to close access gaps without every nation building standalone capacity. As interconnections deepen and markets mature, Africa’s energy future could shift from vulnerability to resilience — a transformation that demands sustained political will, regulatory alignment and private capital.
