Written By: Faith Jemosop
Can you build power plants that never power people? In Africa, it’s already happening.
Across Africa, governments and investors are pouring billions into solar farms, hydropower stations, wind parks, and geothermal plants. From Ethiopia’s 6,000 MW GERD to South Africa’s solar-rich Northern Cape, the continent is in the midst of a renewable energy boom.
But there’s a silent crisis unfolding: a growing amount of power can’t reach the people who need it.
Why? Because it’s trapped, stranded by a lack of modern, interconnected transmission systems.
The Problem Isn’t Just Generation It’s Distribution
When we think of energy access in Africa, we often focus on power generation, building new plants, tapping into clean energy sources, or increasing production capacity. But the more urgent challenge is getting electricity from point A to point B.
This means moving electricity from remote solar or hydro projects to cities, villages, and industrial zones, sometimes across borders. And that requires something Africa has historically underfunded: transmission infrastructure.
The Transmission Gap Is Holding Back Progress
Consider this:
- Ethiopia generates significant hydropower but often can’t distribute it efficiently within its borders or export it quickly.
- Kenya has geothermal power that’s underused during low demand hours due to weak regional integration.
- Nigeria regularly sees nearly 4,000 MW of power go unused daily, not because it’s not generated, but because it can’t be moved through the grid.
- South Africa’s grid is so centralized that new renewable projects are now facing curtailment; they can’t connect to the transmission system fast enough.
These are not generational problems. These are infrastructure failures.
Why Grid Interconnection Is the Missing Link
Imagine if Africa’s clean energy-rich regions were connected across borders, solar from the Sahel, hydro from the Nile Basin, wind from the Rift Valley, geothermal from Kenya, all feeding into a flexible, resilient, and shared grid.
That’s the promise of grid interconnection.
Interconnected grids allow countries to:
- Share excess power during off-peak hours
- Stabilize national grids through regional balancing
- Reduce blackouts by importing when supply drops
- Monetize surplus electricity through exports
- Lower costs via competition and economies of scale
The Cost of Inaction: Wasted Investments and Missed Goals
Without proper transmission lines and interconnectors, Africa risks creating a generation glut, power that exists but can’t be used. This has three dangerous consequences:
- Stranded Assets: Power plants operate below capacity or shut down entirely due to lack of demand or poor connectivity.
- Investor Reluctance: Developers lose confidence in energy markets where their power can’t be sold reliably.
- Slow Electrification: Communities remain in the dark despite being near a power source, simply because there’s no line connecting them.
This slows down progress toward SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and makes it harder to meet climate goals with renewable integration.
The Single African Electricity Market
The African Union’s Single African Electricity Market (SAEM) envisions a continent where electricity flows freely across countries, just like mobile money or internet data.
The plan includes:
- Regional Power Pools like EAPP, SAPP, WAPP, and CAPP
- High-voltage interconnectors like the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania line
- Harmonized tariffs and cross-border trade rules
- Digital grids with real-time monitoring and flexible routing
The benefits? Reduced electricity costs, improved access, more resilient systems, and increased investment confidence.
Also read:Why Costly Batteries Are Slowing Down Car & General’s Electric Tuk-Tuk Sales in East Africa
Africa has enough renewable energy to power itself and beyond. But the true power lies in connection, not just production.
Instead of building more generation in isolation, countries must:
- Invest in modern transmission lines, especially across borders
- Upgrade existing grids to handle more variable renewables
- Coordinate regionally to ensure efficient energy flow
- Implement wheeling frameworks so countries can earn by sharing infrastructure
- Standardize policies and regulatory practices for seamless trade
If Africa gets transmission right, the benefits are massive:
- Energy access for 600+ million people
- Lower electricity prices due to shared generation
- Greater grid stability and fewer blackouts
- New green jobs across construction, operations, and tech
- Global leadership in building a renewable-powered, interconnected continent
The alternative is bleak: stranded energy, delayed development, and growing inequality.
