Regional cooperation for mitigating energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: a context-based approach through the tripartite lenses of access, sufficiency, and mobility

Persistent low electricity access continues to plague Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and has been made more obvious due to the precarious nature of adopted energisation schemes across the region. The absence of resilient electrification schemes within most countries in SSA portends grave danger for the region. Regional cooperation (like the integrated European Union (EU) electricity market) can guarantee stable, secure, and affordable electricity supply across regions when properly regulated. However, such a template as is obtainable in Europe may be impossible to replicate within SSA owing to the peculiar problems, local controversies and very wide variation in regional electrification statistics that exist within the region. This research work pertinently examines the power pools within SSA and argues that improved regional cooperation, especially in tackling the issue of energy poverty and achieving “universal energy access (SDG 7)”, should be pursued on the platform of national energy sufficiency. This argument draws extensively from the geopolitics within the region by different actors and the impact of national interests on regional cooperation. While we do not seek to oppose regional cooperation in electricity trading, we emphasize the need for nations within the region to strive for some level of national energy security through carefully crafted policies and road maps that resonate with their local realities. Regional cooperation should strive to standardise electricity access benchmarks and facilitate technology transfer through existing or improved instruments rather than pushing for more integrated electricity networks.