The ECOWAS Parliament is scheduled to begin a week-long meeting of its delocalised joint committee in Dakar, Senegal, on Monday to address West Africa’s renewable energy and electricity challenges.

A parliamentary statement on Sunday said the meeting was expected to chart strategies to scale up renewable energy deployment and accelerate rural electrification across West Africa.

It will be conducted by the parliament’s Joint Committee on Energy and Mines, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, and Infrastructure.

Participants include regional parliamentarians, representatives of ECOWAS institutions, government officials, development partners, private-sector actors, civil society organisations, and energy experts.

“The meeting comes at a pivotal moment, when millions of people in rural West Africa continue to lack reliable electricity, with direct consequences for agriculture, education, healthcare, digital inclusion and economic productivity, despite recent progress in rural electrification around the sub-region.

“ECOWAS has committed to achieving universal access to sustainable and affordable energy by 2030, and parliamentary action is increasingly central to that ambition.

“Discussions will examine how decentralised renewable energy systems, including solar mini-grids, hybrid energy systems and stand-alone solar installations can more effectively bridge the electricity access gap in underserved communities,” the statement said.

The parliament noted that West Africa holds vast untapped solar and hydropower potential, and the meeting would assess progress to date, map existing constraints and identify concrete pathways for scaling up regional investment.

“The joint committee will also review key regional frameworks, including the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP), the Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP), the updated ECOWAS Energy Policy and the Regional Electricity Market (REM).

“Others are the contributions of ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA),” it noted.

The programme’s highlight is a field visit to a renewable energy installation in Senegal, where the lawmakers would engage directly with beneficiary communities, local entrepreneurs, women and youth.

This aims to enable the parliamentarians to gain firsthand insight into how rural electrification transforms livelihoods and drives local enterprise.

“At the end of the week-long meeting, members are expected to adopt recommendations to reinforce regional rural electrification efforts, mobilise investment in renewable energy infrastructure and strengthen parliamentary oversight of ECOWAS energy policies and programmes,” it added.

(NAN)