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AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

GRID It would also help in developing renewable is made up of two 400 kV (kilovolt) lines.
energy production and create new jobs in They were put into service in 1997 and 2006,
Morocco to lead Arab power Arabic-speaking countries. respectively.
The lines include seven cables, including
market three for each circuit and one reserve cable.
“The seven cables are run from the Tarifa
The Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity Morocco reports small terminal station, at the Spanish end, to the
has finalised the legal text for establishing a leak in Spain-Morocco Furious terminal station, at the Moroccan
joint electricity market in the Arab world. end,” reported the news outlet.
In a recent video conference meeting, submarine electrical cable Moroccan electricity exports to Spain
the council approved the final versions of exceeded 1,207 GWh in 2019, according to
two conventions: A general convention and Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and statistics from Red Electrica de Espana.
a convention for the joint Arab electricity Drinking Water (ONEE) reported a slight leak The number represents an increase of more
market. of a biodegradable insulating liquid at reserve than 570% between 2018 and 2019.
Sixteen countries took part in the meeting submarine cable number four, owned jointly Morocco’s electricity exports to Spain in
and approved the convention, including by ONEE and Spanish company Red Electrica 2018 reached only 180 GWh.
Morocco. The Moroccan Minister of Energy, de Espana (REE).
Mines, and the Environment, Aziz Rabbah, The cable secures the electrical connection
attended the meeting, alongside the electricity between Morocco and Spain.
and energy ministers of other Arabic-speaking A statement from ONEE said the incident TRADING
states. had no impact on the normal operation of
During the meeting, participants called the first and second connections in service, Word Bank to lend $300mn
for internal coordination between national which provide marine electrical connectivity
authorities to ratify the conventions before between the Maghreb and European to boost power trading in
the end of 2020. If all governments respect the networks.
deadline, the joint electricity market project The statement said the damaged cable was West Africa
could see the light of day in 2021. an emergency link and was out of service
The Secretary-General of the Arab since 2018 due to a collision caused by a The World Bank has approved a total of
League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who chaired fishing vessel. $300mn in International Development
the meeting, said the conventions would A specialised company then implemented Association (IDA) credits and grants to
complement the efforts that Arab states have the first phase of repair, which sought to support reforms that will help promote
made in the past two decades in the field of stop the leakage of liquid at a depth of electricity trading in West Africa.
energy. approximately 500 meters. he West Africa Regional Energy Trade
According to Aboul Gheit, if the project ONEE and the Spanish company secured Development Policy Financing Programme
goes as planned, the joint Arab electricity a specialised ship urgently equipped with the (West Africa Energy DPF) seeks to remove
market would be the second largest in the necessary equipment to monitor the leakage barriers to electricity trade, which will lower
world, behind the European Union. site on Monday at a depth of approximately electricity costs for consumers, support
The project aims to achieve an energetic 200 meters. the competitiveness of firms and improve
integration at the level of Arabic-speaking “Efforts are underway in complete resilience and reliability of supply.
countries. It also hopes to put in place a coordination between the National Office Currently, only 50 percent of the
framework for energetic trade and exchange of Electricity and Drinking Water and the population in West Africa have access to
in the Arab world. Spanish company for the final reform of this electricity, and those who do, pay among
According to the council, the joint Arab malfunction,” ONEE said. the highest prices in the world – more than
electricity market would have a positive According to Europa Sur, the electrical double those of consumers in East Africa.
economic, social, and environmental impact. interconnection between Morocco and Spain In addition, due to operational deficiencies,
electricity services are unreliable, with an
average of 44 hours of outages per month.
Over the past decade, member countries of
the Economic Commission of West African
States (ECOWAS) have been working --
through the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP)
-- towards a fully integrated power market.
Within a few years, they will have completed
the primary interconnectors that will link
them together.
The West Africa Energy DPF supports a
policy reform programme being implemented
by Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea,
Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone, to facilitate
trade in cleaner low cost electricity generated
from gas, hydropower and renewable
energy across borders. This will replace the

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