KEY POINTS
- ECOWAS Parliament adopted a joint committee report on rural electrification in Dakar last week.
- The regional body is targeting a 48 percent renewable energy share in West Africa by 2030.
- Lawmakers called for mini-grids, off-grid systems and stronger financing to power rural communities.
West Africa’s lawmakers left Dakar last week with a mandate. The ECOWAS Parliament has adopted a joint committee report calling for accelerated rural electrification across the region, with renewable energy at the center of the strategy.
The report emerged from a five-day meeting of the Joint Committee on Energy and Mines, Infrastructure, and Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources. The session ran from June 15 to 19 in the Senegalese capital under the theme: “Harnessing Renewable Energy for Rural Electrification and the Revitalisation of Rural Economies in the ECOWAS Region.”
Lawmakers from across the region reviewed technical presentations, held panel discussions, and visited active renewable energy installations before adopting the final document.
Mini-grids and off-grid systems take center stage
The joint committee’s adopted report makes a clear case for decentralised energy as the most practical path to rural electrification in West Africa. It resolved that governments and regional institutions should push greater deployment of mini-grids and off-grid systems, rather than waiting for national grid extensions that have historically been slow to reach remote communities.
The committee also called for the harmonisation of regulatory frameworks across member states, stronger financing mechanisms for energy projects, and increased parliamentary oversight to ensure accountability in energy project delivery.
Regional institutions have set a target of raising the share of renewable energy in West Africa’s electricity mix to 48 percent by 2030. That figure currently sits well below that level across most member states, making accelerated deployment a pressing priority.
Lawmakers push for youth training and gender inclusion
Beyond infrastructure, the report placed significant emphasis on human development. The committee called for expanded technical training programmes targeting young people, arguing that youth capacity is essential to building and maintaining the renewable energy systems the region needs.
Lawmakers also stressed the importance of mainstreaming gender considerations across all energy initiatives. They want to ensure that women in rural communities are not sidelined in the transition to cleaner and more reliable energy.
Participants concluded by pledging to work collectively toward ECOWAS Vision 2050, with a specific commitment that no rural community should be left behind in the region’s energy transition.
