Connecting West Africa through Regional Power Integration and Expanded Electricity Access
Results Highlights
- Unlocked regional power trade: More than 4,000 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines have been built to connect the electricity grids of 15 West African countries through the WAPP, enabling utilities to trade electricity across borders. As a result, about 8 percent of regional electricity is now traded (approaching the European Commission’s 10–12 percent cross-border electricity trade benchmark), lowering costs and improving supply reliability.
- Increased access to electricity (2019–2025): More than 3 million people across Burkina Faso, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia have benefitted from electricity service owing to transmission and distribution upgrades.
- Stronger utility finances: Guinea-Bissau‘s utility (EAGB) moved from a monthly deficit of about $1 million to a positive balance. The Gambia‘s utility (NAWEC) returned to profitability with about 42 percent cost savings, thanks to Guinea’s large hydropower resources and the regional transmission loop.
- Launching regional electricity market (2026): The WAPP and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) run all interconnected grids in sync and have expanded trade. A new short-term “Day-Ahead Market” is being launched, enabling utilities to buy electricity for the next day’s needs at lower cost and avoid costly power outages that put people in the dark and hamper business operations.
The West Africa Regional Power Integration and Electricity Access Program is delivering more affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity, helping create jobs, empowering women, and reducing climate impacts.
Development Challenge
Before the program, West Africa’s development was held back by limited access to reliable, affordable electricity. Over half the population had no power at all, and many connected customers faced frequent outages. Most utilities relied on old fuel-based generation plants that could not meet peak demand or keep up with growing needs. Electricity was expensive to produce because it depended on imported liquid fuels, while retail tariffs remained below the real cost of service, weakening financial sustainability. With scarce public funding, countries struggled to invest in cleaner generation and the transmission and distribution networks needed to deliver power. A few countries, such as Guinea and Cote d’ Ivoire, had surplus generation but could not export it due to a lack of cross-border transmission lines and trading rules. In this context, a coordinated regional solution became critical to overcome national power shortages and speed up progress toward universal electricity access.
World Bank Group Approach
The World Bank adopted a holistic, multi-pronged approach combining partnerships, new transmission lines, distribution expansion, market development, and institutional strengthening. With co-financing from partners such as the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the West Africa Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and Agence Française de Développement, the program built major cross-border interconnectors, including the Cote d’Ivoire–Liberia–Sierra Leone–Guinea (CLSG) line, the Guinea–Guinea Bissau–The Gambia–Senegal (OMVG) transmission loop ,and the Senegal-Mali Interconnector (OMVS), helping unify national grids. Innovative shield-wire technology on these lines enabled electrification of nearby communities. As substations came online, the Bank supported the expansion of last-mile connections through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Electricity Access (REAP) and the Regional Electricity Access and Battery Energy Storage Technologies (BEST) projects.
In parallel, the Bank helped build a functioning regional market, supporting standard power contracts, a regional grid code and operator agreements, and transmission pricing, while operationalizing the West African Power Pool’s (WAPP’s) Information and Communication Center. The program is also developing a Day-Ahead Market (DAM) and full grid synchronization. In late 2025, regulators validated DAM tariffs and WAPP completed the first synchronization trial with uninterrupted power flows across twelve countries in West Africa.
Contribution to WBG Targets and Jobs
The program improved living conditions for women, narrowing gender gaps, and enabling women-led businesses to grow, raising incomes and access to education and health services. It also created more than 52,000 direct and indirect jobs through the construction and operation of the CLSG and OMVG transmission networks across engineering, construction, logistics, project management, and operations and maintenance.
Lessons Learned
The experience from cross-border transmission projects shows that regional power integration is a cost-effective way to close supply gaps and improve utility finances. Through the OMVG loop, Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia imported Guinea’s hydropower, cutting EAGB’s generation costs by more than half (from 25 to 11 US cents/kWh) and reducing NAWEC’s costs by 42 percent, bringing both utilities back to profitability. The CLSG network enabled Liberia and Sierra Leone to import lower-cost electricity from Côte d’Ivoire, reducing generation costs by 10–20 percent. Likewise, the Tambacounda–Kayes (OMVS) line lowered costs in Tambacounda, Senegal by facilitating imports from the Manantali Hydropower Complex.
Next Steps
Looking ahead, the regional power integration and electricity access program will expand cross-border power trade, improve utility finances, and accelerate progress toward universal electricity access, supporting West Africa’s socioeconomic development. The first phase of the West Africa Regional Electricity Market Program (WA-REMP) is assisting WAPP and ERERA to fully synchronize interconnected grids and launch the Day-Ahead Market to boost regional electricity exchanges. To enhance trust in power trade, the program will also establish a liquidity enhancement revolving fund to ensure timely payments, complemented by country-level reforms that strengthen utilities’ financial sustainability. As regional trade grows and access accelerates under Mission 300, new regional energy projects are being prepared to help countries advance toward universal access, spur economic activity, and create jobs. Over time, additional cross-border interconnector projects are planned to deepen regional connectivity.