Energy Experts from ECOWAS Member States meet in Bissau to Review Some Community Texts Relating to the Energy Sector

The meeting of Energy Experts from ECOWAS Member States opens today, March 22, 2023, in Bissau, Guinea Bissau.

The two-day Experts’ meeting will carry out a final review of the updated ECOWAS Energy Policy, the Regional Electricity Code and the Green Hydrogen Policy and recommend their adoption to the meeting of the ECOWAS Ministers in charge of Energy, scheduled to hold in Bissau on March 24, 2023.

Also on the agenda is the consideration of the state of implementation of the regional electricity market, the state of compliance of the Member States vis-à-vis the Directive on securing cross-border electricity exchanges within the framework of the regional electricity market, the ECREEE Strategic Plan 2023-2027, and the West African Gas Pipeline project and the importance of natural gas as a transition fuel.

While welcoming the Experts, Mr. Bayaornibe Dabire, Director, Energy and Mines of the ECOWAS Commission, stressed that he is convinced that the adoption of these Policies and the Electricity Code will be a great step forward for the region, not only in terms of access for all to reliable, sustainable, modern and affordable energy services but also in terms of economic and social development.

In his opening statement, Mr. Carlos De Pinho Brandão, the Director General of Energy of Guinea Bissau, appealed to the Experts to reflect and analyse the documents before them and come up with recommendations that will enrich them and find lasting solutions to the Energy challenges in West Africa.

During the meeting, the ECOWAS Energy Information System (EIS-ECOWAS), which is a platform that provides data and information for better planning, design and monitoring of strategies and energy sector policies will be launched.