Members of ERERA in a group photographÂ
Chairman of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), Prof Honore Bogler, has reiterated his outfit’s preparedness to launch the West African Regional Electricity Market in June 2018.
It is expected to bring various operators and regulatory bodies in the industry together to discuss how to ensure power sufficiency in the sub-region.
He said the market will rely on the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP), which has been developing the infrastructure and the high tension cables to link up the member states to enable fast and easy power distribution among them.
Prof Bogler disclosed this on Wednesday in Accra at the 10th meeting of ERERA’s Consultative Committees of Regulators and Operators which from 28-30 November 2017.
According to him, “ERERA has been mandated to draw all operators and regulators together under a well crafted regulatory and legal framework for member states to commit themselves to ensuring that electricity production becomes cheaper and affordable to consumers and industry.”
He said power will be managed in such a way that there will not be disparities in pricing, adding that WAPP will receive power from countries that would produce in excess and re-transmit to countries that need the excess.
“We are doing this to make sure that electricity will be stable in ECOWAS nations to improve productivity.”
The chairman said the meeting of the regulators and operators will review the draft ECOWAS rule on Sanctions and ERERA’s enforcement rules to guide the operations of the Regional Electricity Market (REM) when approved.
Prof Bogler said that aside the work of the above committee, the Legal and Licensing Working Group (LLWG), which is ERERA’s ad hoc technical advisory organ will also be finishing its work for the consultative committee of the regulators and operators to consider for use when the market is in operation.”
In an interview with BUSINESS GUIDE, Prof. Bogler, revealed that after the launch of the first phase of the project in 2018, member countries would be allowed to deal with their respective local regulator but after the second phase in 2020 which will mark the beginning of the full operation of the market, such engagements will come to a halt.
“Here, all legal commitments will be binding and we will not only concentrate on single tariff system but would engage in bilateral discussions to bring in bigger power producers to participate to give us the bulk electricity that we need.”
He gave assurance that there would be no power fluctuations in the West African sub-region when ERERA finishes its work.
By Emmanuel Kubi