By Chiamaka Ozurumba
Right in the heart of Accra, West Africa’s energy sector stood at a crucial crossroads, where leaders gathered for the West Africa Energy Cooperation Summit (WA-ECS) from December 2nd to 3rd, 2025. For two days, ministers, regulators, financiers and private-sector players confronted an uncomfortable truth: the region cannot achieve reliable, affordable electricity by working in isolation, and for once, the conversations did not lean on familiar rhetoric; they were anchored in technical evidence, hard economic realities and a rare willingness to admit what has stalled progress for years.
The tone shifted after public confirmation that a November trial synchronisation at the Sakété substation temporarily linked the Ghana–Togo–Benin network with Nigeria’s grid; both Ghana’s and Nigeria’s energy ministers present at the event acknowledged the test as a significant milestone. That trial, conducted under the coordination of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and national system operators, demonstrated that multiple national systems can operate in sync, albeit for a short period.
The four-hour synchronisation in November was evidence that the region could practically rather than aspirationally see what a functional regional power market might deliver; power flowing across borders, excess generation shared rather than wasted, and a steadier supply for businesses and households. As a panellist put it during the ministers’ roundtable, the test “proved a unified grid is technically feasible; what remains is the regulatory and financial coordination to sustain it.”
However, the discussions that followed made one reality unmistakable: technology alone will not resolve the region’s power challenges. The real obstacles lie in the financial and policy frameworks that shape energy development. At the renewables session, panellists were direct, solar panels and turbines are not the problem; it is the cost structures, contractual terms, and risk allocation that determine whether projects succeed or fail. Across the region, developers continue to grapple with unpredictable procurement processes, volatile currency risks that weaken project returns, and inconsistent policies that undermine long-term planning. While countries such as Benin and Burkina Faso have demonstrated progress through transparent, competitive bidding systems that strengthen investor confidence, many others still struggle to convert renewable ambitions into bankable projects. Even energy storage, critical for the reliability of large-scale solar, remains financially out of reach for most utilities without blended financing or risk-sharing mechanisms.The discussion on gas was equally blunt. Gas remains the backbone of West Africa’s power generation mix, yet it is also the area most vulnerable to global financing shifts. With investors becoming more selective about fossil-fuel-related projects, speakers stressed the need for regional cooperation on major pipelines such as the Nigeria–Morocco and Trans-Saharan corridors. These pipelines cannot advance without predictable offtake structures and coordinated government commitments. Ageing infrastructure is yet another hurdle. As one panellist put it, too many of the region’s pipelines and processing facilities were built for yesterday’s energy economics and need urgent upgrades to meet tomorrow’s demand. The global energy transition is accelerating, but in West Africa, gas still bridges the gap between the region’s green aspirations and what countries can realistically afford.
During the financiers’ roundtable discussion, the speakers highlighted the financial fractures that often derail deals. Investors stressed that projects usually fail not because of technical shortcomings but because revenue is earned in weak local currencies while debt is owed in stronger foreign ones. The arithmetic simply does not work, and this mismatch destroys project economics. Panellists said the withdrawal of Power Africa had left a gap in technical and financial support that domestic institutions must now help fill. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) pushed for local-currency financing and blended structures, arguing that without them, even the most promising projects will remain on paper. Financiers made it clear that if governments want investment at scale, they must provide stability, predictable regulation and tariff structures that reflect real costs rather than political pressures.
By the end of the summit, the conversations had converged on a single conclusion: no West African country can solve its energy problems alone. The synchronisation trial proved what technical cooperation makes possible; the renewables, gas and financing discussions showed that policy alignment and financial innovation are just as critical as grid infrastructure; and the summit itself, organised by EnergyNet and supported by sponsors such as ATIDI, Endeavour Energy and Denham Capital, highlighted how essential private capital will be for the region’s energy future.
WAECS 2025 delivered clarity. Clarity that reliability depends on regional interconnection; clarity that investment depends on stable rules, credible institutions, and appropriate financial structures; and clarity that the region’s ambitions, from solar farms to pipelines to a unified electricity market, will only materialise through cooperation grounded in financial and technical realism. If West Africa acts on what was acknowledged in Accra, the region may finally shift from talking about an energy future to building one.