From 10th to 13th January 2022, a virtual advanced training took place on the electricity demand forecasting as part of Continental Power Systems Masterplan (CMP) for Africa. The CMP is an African Union initiative that will identify the key electricity infrastructure essential for the establishment of an Africa Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), which enable trade within regional power pools, between the continent’s five power pool and inter-continental trade between African, Europe, the Middle Estates and Asia.  

The African Union Development Agency-NEPAD in collaboration with the African Union Commission, African Development Bank, Economic Commission of Africa and supported by the European Union through the EU Technical Assistance Facility (EU TAF); the International Renewable Energy Agency; International Atomic Energy; Get.Transform and other development partners.  

During four days of virtual training supported by the EU-TAF, experts from the five African power pools (CAPP, COMELEC, EAPP, SAPP, WAPP) and AUDA-NEPAD followed several interactive sessions on the electricity demand forecasting. Three days bilateral trainings with each Power Pool will follow during the first quarter of 2022. As electricity demand projections are fundamental for the integration and the planning of power system operations, the training focused mainly on econometrics. The demand forecasting methodology adopted by the Power Pools is premised in Africa’s aspiration for sustainable economic development and universal access to electricity.

The CMP is a central pillar of the AfSEM, aiming to tackle energy poverty and to enhance access to electricity by co-creating solutions with more than 100 African stakeholders. Therefore, the adoption of the same modelling tool and a uniform methodology are crucial to ensure the consistency of inputs for the demand projections from the CMP in all the countries.

The EU Technical Assistance Facility (EU TAF) and AUDA-NEPAD have been working in close collaboration since 2019 on the development of the Continental Power Systems Masterplan (CMP).

For more information, please contact:

Delegation of the European Union to the AU - Eric Hoa:  eric.hoa@eeas.europa.eu

AUDA-NEPAD – Tich Simbini: simbinit@nepad.org