Beninese official at the summit noted that his country has been saved by energy importation from Nigeria and Ghana.
Cabinet members in charge of energy from five countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) applauded Wednesday the existing energy cooperation among countries in the region.
They said such a cooperation has been beneficial, helping to reduce the cost of energy production and bridging the gaps in access to electricity.
They spoke at the ministerial roundtable on 'Bolstering Cross-Border Collaboration to meet the energy needs of the nations,' at the inaugural West Africa Energy Cooperation Summit (WAECS) in Lome, the capital of Togo.
The speakers are the Deputy Minister for Energy, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Republic of Liberia, Charles Umehai; the Minister of Mines and Energy Resources, Togolese Republic, Robert Mossan Eklo; Energy and Infrastructure Adviser to the Prime Minister of Guinea, Bengali Maty; and the Rural Electrification Advisor to the Minister of Energy, Water and Mines in Benin Republic, Slide Pedro.
Though not part of ECOWAS, Morocco attended the summit and its Managing Director, National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, Morocco, Amina Benkhadra, featured in the panel. Ms Benkhadra said her country is participating in the summit because of its important collaborations with countries in the community, including the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP).
The Nigerian Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources, Obongemem Ekpo, was expected to be on the panel but was not present at the summit.
Togo, Benin energy depends on other countries
Mr Pedro from Benin Republic noted that his country has been saved by energy importation from Nigeria and Ghana, which is cheaper than generating electricity through its four-year old electricity generating company, the Beninese Electricity Production Company (SBPE).
He said the plant is, therefore, used to augment the power imported from both countries.
He, however, noted that the government is engaging in reforms in the energy sector, to double its energy production capacity.
"Doubling production capacity involves important investments. In these important investments, we will necessarily have to make a good choice. We will have to work on regional strategic planning. This is why we will have to strengthen our exchanges on these topics," he said.
The Togolese Minister of Mines and Energy Resources, Mr Eklo, also noted that his country depends on imports from Ghana and Nigeria for electricity.
"To date, we can only meet one or more than half of our peak demand," he said. "So, without the contributions in electrical power from Nigeria and Ghana, I think we will be permanently doing the low-checking of load shedding."
He said without this cooperation, his country would have been left "between a rock and a hard place".
"So, in terms of cooperation, we are the first to talk about this cooperation, to applaud this cooperation," he said.
Mr Umehai of Liberia also noted that his country usually depends on Cote' d'Ivoire the source of the most of his country's energy need, especially after the raining season has subsided.
During the dry season, he said the country's 88 megawatt hydro plant cannot function to its full capacity and the country cannot run all of its wind turbines, leading to a huge energy deficit.
"We currently receive power from Cote d'Ivoire and it has been working to an extent in that when you sign a PPA, you have expectations, but the country you also deal with do have their needs. So, wherever they have a shock, you feel that impact also," he said.
Calls for more cooperation
Mr Eklo also called for the deepening of investments and infrastructures for energy transmission by the West African Power Pool (WAPP). WAPP is an ECOWAS project aimed at integrating national power systems into a unified regional electricity market to provide regular and reliable energy at competitive cost in the ECOWAS region.
"That is to say that we can, at a given moment, be able to buy energy from Guinea, as is the case in Europe. Finally, the country that has a surplus can send it to the other," he said.
"To make a long story short, in terms of cooperation, regional cooperation, we welcome all initiatives from ECOWAS and we welcome especially all the initiatives of regional cooperation in terms of energy, because we are talking about energy."
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Mr Pedro from Benin Republic also called for the harmonisation of the energy market and prices in the region to further ease access.
On her part, the Moroccan head of the Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, Ms Benkhadra, spoke on the ongoing gas pipeline project between Morocco and Nigeria which aims to continue to accelerate access to energy in the region. She said the benefits of the project go beyond the production of electricity and energy.
"It contributes to the strengthening of sub-regional cooperation, to regional integration, and it creates a global dynamic in this region of the West Bank," she said, adding it would also have considerable impacts on other sectors such as the mining sector.
"This project is an integrative project, and our continent really needs to improve its integration, since it is also a source of growth and development. And so, the benefits of this pipeline go beyond the production of electricity and energy," she added.
