The Continental Master Plan (CMP) has completed its final analyses, urging a concerted effort to plan and coordinate energy infrastructure on a continental scale. The reports were presented for validation at the Fourth Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialised Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional Infrastructure, and Energy (STC-TTIIE) held in Zanzibar, Tanzania, from 12th to 15th of September 2023.

The demand for electricity in Africa, where an estimated 600 million are withoutaccess , is projected to rise significantly by 2040 due to factors such as rapid population growth, industrialisation, urban migration, higher household incomes, and the impacts of climate change. However, achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 seems unlikely based on the current baseline business as usual projections.

To curb the trajectory, a substantial increase in investments is necessary to raise Africa's installed electricity generation capacity from 266 GW currently to around 1,218 GW by 2040. Meeting this ambitious target will require an estimated cumulative investment of USD 1.29 trillion and could result in the creation of a strong continental electricity market valued at USD 136 billion by 2040. It also requires a long-term planning process to increase regional electricity interconnections and tackle energy poverty on the continent.

In 2019, African energy ministers assigned the task of developing Africa’s first Continental Master Plan (CMP) for the power sector to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), as a crucial pre-requisite for the creation of the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM). After four years of collaborative research, analysis and stakeholder engagement, involving more than 100 experts to rethink energy planning on the continent, the CMP – which serves as a blueprint for the AfSEM – has made significant strides towards enabling a well-balanced trading of affordable, reliable and clean energy resources across all regions of Africa.

A unique example of collaboration and capacity-building among energy experts

This week, energy stakeholders from across the continent and beyond are gathered in Zanzibar, Tanzania, on the sidelines of the AU STC-TTIIE, the Ministerial decision-making organ of the AU for the transport and energy sectors, as well as overall infrastructure development matters. Major final deliverables of the CMP were presented for validation by the STC, including the Updated Planning Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis Results Report, the Updated Transmission Network Studies Report, the Synthesis of Results Report, the Continental Masterplan Models Documentation Report, and the CMP Digital Visualisation Report.

Ensuring commitment and contributions from all parties involved in the development of the CMP is of paramount importance to combat energy poverty in various parts of the continent. The same goes for establishing a common understanding on the CMP modelling activities and results among the African Union , AUDA-NEPAD, Regional Economic Communities, Regional Power Pools, key African institutions, the European Union, modelling partners and other development partners.

In this context, the second phase of the CMP concluded this week with extensive consultations and stakeholder meetings, and a strong emphasis on consensus-building, shared ownership and sustainability.

By providing a strategic roadmap for connecting Africa’s five power pools, the CMP is not only pivotal to build a sustainable and resilient electricity grid across Africa, but also to identify and prioritise projects that will maximise Africa's energy potential and, ultimately, guide investment and policy design across the continent that will benefit over 2 billion people by 2040.

About the CMP:

The CMP is the masterplan for Africa’s Green Vision, creating one grid for one continent. It is implemented by AUDA-NEPAD and African Union Commission, supported by the European Union through the EU- Global Technical Assistance Facility (EU-GTAF), African Development Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) with additional support from USAID-Power Africa, Get.Transform, Africa-EU Energy Partnership and the French Development Agency. The CMP aims to curb the electricity deficit and uninterrupted access to affordable, reliable and clean energy resources.