From 21 to 25 November 2022, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delivered the third training on the modelling tool SPLAT-Africa to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the regional power pools and EU Global Technical Assistance Facility (EU-GTAF) experts supporting the modelling of Africa’s first Continental Power System Master Plan (CMP).

The five-day training, hosted by IRENA in Bonn, Germany, aimed at guiding the participants on the MESSAGE and SPLAT-Africa tools used for modelling the CMP through a series of presentations, discussions and practical exercises. It gathered representatives of four power pools (CAPP, SAPP, WAPP and COMELEC) to practically review and discuss the initial reference scenario results of the CMP.

The first day was dedicated to revisiting the second SPLAT-Africa training in Cairo, building on the reference scenario, and gathering feedback from the CMP modelling team on experiences, challenges and outcomes of consultations with power pool members.

The second day introduced participants to developing alternative scenarios in MESSAGE and SPLAT-Africa building on the reference scenario.

On the third day, participants were introduced to integrating and operationalizing different levels of interconnectors into CMP scenarios in SPLAT-Africa, and the corresponding factors that define and control interconnection levels. After a presentation by ENTSOG on scenario development in the EU, there was an opportunity to share insights on how other regions have coordinated, modelled and implemented interconnected power system plans.

While the fourth day was dedicated to developing alternative CMP interconnected scenarios in MESSAGE and SPLAT-Africa, the final day was mostly focused on discussing the participants’ presentations and modelling results. A key topic of discussion was around how to improve SPLAT-Africa.

Wrapping up the training, AUDA-NEPAD and the EU-GTAF experts presented a work plan with a timeline of activities until the final training on SPLAT-Africa scheduled for March 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda. The finalized results from the CMP’s reference and baseline scenarios will also be widely discussed with continental stakeholders in Kigali.