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Regional power trade in Africa: the different institutional and regulatory models of African power pools

M.A.E. Elabbas

In the book Energy regulation in Africa: Dynamics, challenges, and opportunities

Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham, Switzerland


Summary

In Africa, regional electricity markets are being developed through the establishment of five power pools to promote power trading between countries in different regions. Experience from regional electricity markets around the world has shown that ineffective regional governance and flawed rules for regional trading and network cost allocation are the main obstacles to realising the benefits of well-designed regional markets. In addition to focusing on regional institutions and governance, this chapter provides new information on the historical development of power trading and its current organisation across the African continent. It also presents a comparative case study of the five African power pools. The chapter makes use of a general model of regional power trade organisation to facilitate the analysis of the institutional and regulatory models of SAPP, WAPP, CAPP, EAPP, and COMELEC. It also examines the political economy of regional cooperation to show how national interests and trade agendas have shaped the development. Finally, the chapter concludes by highlighting the institutional gaps in each region and emphasising the role of regulation in advancing power trade on the continent.


Spanish layman's summary:

El documento examina los cinco bloques regionales de comercio de energía en África, sus organizaciones y sus modelos institucionales y reguladores. En cada región, el documento examina la cooperación regional temática y el impacto de las agendas políticas nacionales.


English layman's summary:

The paper reviews the five regional power trading blocks in Africa, their organizations, institutional and regulatory models. In each region, the paper examines the thematic regional cooperation and the impact of national political agendas.


Keywords: African power pools; Regional electricity market; Regional integration; Political economy; Regional institutions; Regulatory models; Regional electricity market; Regional integration; Political economy; Regional institutions; Regulatory models


Editors: Ackah, I.; et al.,

ISBN: 978-3-031-52676-3

DOI: DOI icon https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52677-0_14

DOI of the book: DOI icon https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52677-0

Published: 2024



Citation:
M.A.E. Elabbas, Regional power trade in Africa: the different institutional and regulatory models of African power pools, in Energy regulation in Africa: Dynamics, challenges, and opportunities. Editors Ackah, I.; et al., . Ed. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Cham, Switzerland, 2024.


    Research topics:
  • Energy markets design and regulation

IIT-24-085L

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