Africa Continental Power System Masterplan

African Union has launched the Africa Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) on 3rd June 2021. Implementation of AfSEM will be supported by the Continental Power System Masterplan (CMP) currently being developed by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). Together with the IAEA, IRENA is supporting the CMP initiative as officially endorsed modelling partner (IRENA press release).

IRENA’s CMP support is a multi-year programme under the aim to establish a long-term continent-wide planning process for power generation and transmission involving all five African power pools. The agency has been assisting AUDA-NEPAD and the five Power Pools with model building, data sharing and knowledge transfer to enable the creation of a smart power systems master plan that promotes access to clean, affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity supplies across the continent.

The CMP modelling team consists of experts from AUDA-NEPAD, African Union Commission, four (Eastern, West, Central and Southern) African Power Pools and country experts from North African region. IRENA and IAEA are providing them the on-job training on the use of all continent Africa model built using IRENA’s System Planning Test (SPLAT) models. Including a technical session held weekly with modelling partners to assist on operational aspects; the CMP modelling team is receiving a structured training programme consisting of a MESSAGE e-learning course and a series of four week long trainings:

• CMP Training week 1 (20-24 June 2022, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
• CMP Training week 2 (14-18 Aug 2022, Cairo, Egypt)
• CMP Training week 3 (21-25 Nov 2022, Bonn, Germany)
• CMP Training week 4 (13-17 March 2023, Kigali, Rwanda)

The SPLAT-CMP model, the modelling framework for electricity and transmission capacity expansion optimization behind the Africa CMP, marks a key outcome of this important African initiative. IRENA’s CMP support builds on agency’s energy planning capacity building efforts in Africa, Planning and Prospects for Renewable Power report series, and Long-Term Energy Scenarios network, which provides insights related to experience and good practice in Africa.

First CMP training week was hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 20–24 June. The training was joined by members of CMP modelling team.

This workshop followed after a MESSAGE eLearning course organized by IAEA on 9-13 May 2022. In this workshop, the participants learnt how key elements of the SPLAT-Africa model are represented in the MESSAGE modelling framework, through lectures and hands-on sessions. The CMP modelling team was enabled to achieve the first milestone of calibrating the SPLAT/MESSAGE model to the current data and statistics. See training agenda for details.

Second CMP training workshop week was hosted in Cairo, Egypt on 14–18 August, 2022. The training was joined by members of CMP modelling team.

Prior to this workshop, the CMP modelling team fully configured the base year scenario inputs as per the most updated data and stats available from the Power pools. In the workshop, the participants achieved the 2^nd milestone of developing the base case scenario and how to interpret the scenario results. See training agenda for details.

Third CMP training workshop week was hosted in Bonn, Germany by IRENA on 21–25 November, 2022. The workshop was joined by members of CMP modelling team.

In this workshop, the participants learnt: (1) how to run all continent model carrying detailed power system expansion models for 50 countries; (2) how to develop alternative scenarios of interconnecting national grids at intra-regional and continent wide scale; and (3) how to visualize the big datasets of model results using SPLAT interface, a dedicated excel widget and web based dashboard. See training agenda for details.

The fourth and final CMP training workshop week was hosted in Kigali, Rwanda by IRENA on 13-17 March, 2023. The workshop was joined by members of CMP modelling team.

Prior to this training, the scenario runs for Baseline and Reference scenarios were completed by the CMP modelling team. The country and region-specific insights from these scenarios were presented and discussed in the initial day of the workshop. In the following days, participants were trained along with hands-on exercises on designing various sensitivities around fuel prices, technology evolution, hydro variability, and delay in key projects using the SPLAT interface.

Also, the cost modelling methodology for generic interconnectors and the preliminary results of Full Continental Integration scenario were presented as starting material to facilitate the initiation of modelling the alternative CMP scenarios that would incorporate increasing degree of regional coordination through provision of cross-border interconnections. See training agenda for details.

On 13th January 2023, during IRENA’s 13th General Assembly, the agency hosted a side event to highlight the African Continental Power Systems Master Plan (CMP), an important step towards promoting nationally-owned energy planning processes across Africa. The event was attended by approximately 80 IRENA member state delegates and partners.

The event showcased champions of energy planning in Africa at the national, regional, and continental levels. The panel discussions and interventions from the audience highlighted that strong and locally-owned planning processes to design long-term energy scenarios are crucial to meet national and pan-African energy milestones of affordably and sustainably. The insights generated during the event provided crucial guidance to enhance IRENA’s future programs on energy planning.

The CMP is an initiative of the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD). The country delegates in attendance strongly commended the CMP initiative and emphasized the need for continuous efforts to align national and regional planning processes with the continental planning process. The event encouraged AUDA-NEPAD and partner organizations to take a leading role in this alignment process.

See event agenda, concept note, proceedings and recording.

Associated Publications

• Energy Planning and Modelling Support in Africa (Brochure)
• Scenarios for the energy transition: Experience and good practices in Africa (2023)
• Planning and prospects for renewable power: North Africa (2023)
• Planning and prospects for renewable power: Eastern and Southern Africa (2021)
• The renewable energy transition in Africa (2021)
• Planning and prospects for renewable power: West Africa (2018)
• Planning and prospects for renewable energy: Africa Power Sector Synthesis report (2015)