The Summit’s Executive Council made pivotal announcements following last year’s recommendations of the Ministerial decision-making body of the AU that underscore the continent's commitment to reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity and the development of its energy sector.

The government representatives:

• Called for the adoption of the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) with its Continental Power Systems Masterplan (CMP) to become an AU Agenda 2063 Flagship Project. AfSEM aspires to become the world’s largest electricity market by 2040 and through the CMP the necessary infrastructure is created;
• Adopted several key documents of the AfSEM and CMP which provide a solid foundation for the next steps in the implementation of these two key initiatives and will facilitate strategic planning as well as the harmonisation of the legal framework within the African energy sector;
• Called on the AU Member States to allocate financial resources for the implementation of the AfSEM and CMP.

Following the official endorsement as a flagship project, African energy stakeholders gathered in Addis Ababa on 21 and 22 February 2024 to consult on and validate the latest reports concerning the intra- and inter-regional interconnectors under the CMP and the criteria established for the prioritisation of generation and transmission projects. In addition, the upcoming priorities and next steps in the implementation of both the CMP and AfSEM initiatives were discussed. The participants underlined unanimously that the time had come to move “from words to action” and that the flagship initiative label would undoubtedly facilitate the raising of additional funds.

Both events – the AU Summit and the subsequent meeting with stakeholders – represent  a significant step forward in the realisation of a sustainable and interconnected African energy market.

A unique example of collaboration in the framework of the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI) and the EU Global Gateway Strategy

The mission of the AfSEM and CMP is to co-create a harmonised, well inter-connected and competitive continental African electricity market delivering secure, reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity services. The projects’ timeline is divided into several progressive development phases – of which an important step was marked this week. 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 provide 1.3 billion people access to reliable and sustainable electricity in the future.

Both initiatives constitute a unique example of collaboration of African energy stakeholders and are part of the EU continental actions in the context of the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI). They are also fully integrated into the Global Gateway Strategy of the European Union, which aims at investing in sustainable infrastructure projects around the world with a dedicated package worth €150 billion for Africa only. The AfSEM and CMP are key priority initiatives for the EU in this context, and the Global Gateway Strategy provides an opportunity to accelerate their implementation, while also other sources of funding will be mobilised.