The legal challenges of the West African electricity market

Electricity interconnections by encouraging the construction of a single market for electrical energy in Africa appear to be an excellent vector for sustainable regional economic integration. However in West Africa this ambitious project is facing a number of legal challenges that need to be addressed as soon as possible in order to speed up the establishment of the West African regional electricity market. This study identifies these challenges examines their technical aspects and proposes solutions to meet them.These legal challenges are mainly linked to the market's development and operating conditions which need to be improved. Thus it is first and foremost the market design model and the resources available to the entities in charge of market development that need to be questioned before addressing their consequences on the legal organization of transactions and the effectiveness of the regulatory mechanism set up within the market.This book is aimed primarily at energy professionals (engineers lawyers economists financiers decision-makers etc.) interested in the energy issues facing ECOWAS.