AUC Leans on Renewable Energy to Drive Africa\’s Transformation
Africa’s Vision for a Unified Energy Future
The African Union Commission (AUC) is placing its hopes on sustainable and clean energy as the foundation for Africa’s development and transformation. With more than 500 million people across the continent lacking access to electricity, the need for reliable and affordable energy has never been more urgent.
Sara Elhag, head of the Energy Division at the AUC, highlighted how the absence of electricity is limiting opportunities in education, healthcare, industry, and digital inclusion. She emphasized that achieving universal energy access, regional power integration, and industrialization is crucial for Africa’s future.
At the second African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) Forum in Egypt, Elhag spoke on behalf of AUC’s Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Lerato Mataboge. “Africa’s development and transformation will be powered by sustainable, reliable, affordable, and clean energy,” she said. This vision will be realized through strategic continental frameworks such as AfSEM, the Continental Power System Master Plan (CMP), and Mission 300, along with complementary regional and national initiatives focused on renewable energy, mini-grid expansion, and energy efficiency.
In February 2023, AfSEM was adopted by the AU Summit of Heads of State and Government as a Flagship Project of Agenda 2063, following its approval by the 44th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council. This flagship status provides strategic and political support for AfSEM’s implementation, reaffirming it as an initiative by Africa, for Africa, designed to deliver a single, integrated electricity market across the continent by 2040.
When fully implemented, AfSEM will establish one continental grid ensuring stability in supply, affordability for all, and increased access to modern energy services. Beyond interconnection, AfSEM also embraces off-grid and mini-grid markets, ensuring that no community is left behind. Through sound policies, regulatory reforms, and investment strategies, the goal is to de-risk Africa’s electricity market—creating a stable, transparent, and attractive environment for both public and private investment at the national and regional levels.
The Role of the AfSEM Forum
Elhag noted that the AfSEM Forum, coordinated jointly by the African Union Commission, Association of Power Utilities of Africa, power pools, and national utilities, serves as one of the most important governance organs of the AfSEM process. She explained that AfSEM’s vision is to ensure that Africa increases electricity access, improves livelihoods, and ensures environmental sustainability by unlocking its vast renewable energy potential, including hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal resources, while advancing climate resilience and green industrialization.
This vision aligns with the principles of the African Union Treaties and Protocols, which seek to strengthen continental cooperation among RECs and Member States, and foster the conditions for peace, stability, and shared prosperity. “In synergy with the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfSEM serves as a targeted intervention to integrate Africa’s electricity systems, allowing power to flow freely across borders, reducing costs, and expanding access,” she said.
“By enabling competitive electricity markets nationally, regionally, and continentally, AfSEM will drive economic efficiency, lower tariffs, and enhance reliability, creating tangible benefits for both entrepreneurs and households.”
Financing and Investment Strategies
During the technical sessions, Shehu Khaleel, senior energy advisor at the African Union Commission, underscored the critical role of AfSEM in unlocking financing for Africa’s integrated energy future. “AfSEM provides the enabling environment for investment and financing. It creates stability, transparency, and a platform for public and private sector participation,” he said, emphasizing the AUC’s commitment to strengthening regional and national institutions, building capacity, and establishing the governance organs required for effective coordination and implementation.
Panelists, including Ahmad Badr from IRENA, Dalal from EEHC Egypt, and Adama Moussa from the African Development Bank, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need for collective effort and unified action to ensure the successful rollout of AfSEM.
Progress on the Continental Power System Master Plan
A highlight of the Forum was the review of progress on the Continental Power System Master Plan, which recently completed Phase III, delivering a fully harmonized continental investment blueprint integrating generation and transmission priority projects across all five regional power pools. This milestone marks a turning point in Africa’s energy planning, transitioning from fragmented national planning toward a coordinated continental power system.
The Second AfSEM Forum concluded with a unified commitment to accelerate implementation, deepen collaboration, and deliver on Africa’s vision of “One Grid, One Market, One Vision.” “Together, let us reaffirm our collective resolve to light every home, power every school, and energise every industry so that by 2040, Africa will stand united under one grid,” Elhag said.
