Regional Electricity Access and BEST Project

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The development objective of the Regional Electricity Access and Battery Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Project for Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is to increase access to grid electricity, enhance power system stability, and increase renewable energy integration in the West Africa power pool (WAPP). The project comprises of four components. The first component, design, supply, and installation of electricity distribution infrastructure specifically supports the detailed design, supply, and installation of distribution networks from the WAPP 225/33-kV substations. The second component, design, supply, and installation of battery energy storage technology (BEST) equipment involves the supply and installation of a 205-MWh BEST to provide frequency control to the WAPP power system. The third component, supervision of the construction and technical advisory will finance the costs associated with the recruitment of the two owner’s engineers who will be recruited on a competitive basis under the project to supervise the work carried out under component 1 and component 2. The fourth component, project coordination and technical assistance will finance a combination of technical assistance and project management support to assist Recipients in successfully implementing the project and preparing for future energy access phases under the program. It consists of following sub-components: (i) regional implementation support; and (ii) national implementation support.