Senegal - Country Commercial Guide
Energy
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Overview

Diversifying the country’s energy sources and modernizing the energy sector is a top priority for the Government of Senegal, as outlined in Senegal’s ambitious Emerging Senegal Plan.  Priorities include reduction of energy costs through diversified energy sources, addition of generation capacities to meet a growing demand, regional energy integration, a shift from heavy fuel oil to domestic natural gas, and increased energy access in rural areas.  Due to dependence on expensive liquid fuels for 90 percent of power generation, Senegal has some of the highest generation costs in Africa.  While electricity generation costs range from 34 to 38 cents per kilowatt hour, consumers pay roughly 24 cents per kilowatt hour with the difference covered by government subsidies.  Comparatively, the average electricity tariff is 11 cents per kilowatt hour in Cote d’Ivoire, 6 cents in Nigeria and 9 cents in Ghana. 

Senegal is a Power Africa focus country.  Power Africa is a market-driven, U.S. government-led public-private partnership aiming to double access to electricity in Africa.  It offers private sector entities tools and resources to facilitate doing business in Africa’s power sector. 

After completing its first MCC compact in 2014, MCC granted Senegal in 2018 a five-year second compact focused on strengthening the energy sector.  The initiative aims to improve the transmission network in and around Dakar, increase electricity access in agricultural areas of the south and central regions, and improve the overall governance of the sector.  In January 2020, President Macky Sall signed a decree legally establishing the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Senegal II) and its Board of Directors.  MCA-Senegal II is the Government of Senegal entity that partners with MCC to implement the $600 million MCC Senegal Power Compact (including a $50 million Government of Senegal contribution).  MCC and the MCA signed compact implementation on September 9, 2021.

The Government of Senegal promotes private sector involvement in electricity generation and distribution through delivery of concessions and licenses under the oversight of an independent electricity sector regulator, established later as the Commission de Régulation du Secteur de l’Electricité (CRSE). The law also calls for scaling up rural electrification by transferring responsibility to service rural areas from SENELEC — the national utility who previously held a monopoly in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution — to a dedicated rural electrification agency set up in 1999 as the Agence Sénégalaise d’Electrification Rurale (ASER).  

Senegal is also committed to renewable energy resources, with approximately one-third of its energy mix coming from renewables.  In February 2020, President Sall officially inaugurated the first phase of the Taiba Ndiaye Wind Park, Senegal’s first utility-scale wind project which, when completed, will be the largest in West Africa.  Phase One’s 16 turbines began supplying 50 MW of electricity to Senegal’s grid in December 2019, while additional phases since July 2021 add 108 MW, increasing the country’s electricity supply by 15 percent.

Senegal supports regional energy cooperation as a member of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and is a member of regional organizations to develop hydroelectricity resources on the Senegal (OMVS – Senegal River Basin Development Organization) and Gambia (OMVG – Gambia River Basin Development Organization) rivers.  In 1972 the governments of Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania established the OMVS with a mandate to ensure a multi-purpose water resource development, including electricity supply.  The Senegal River Basin’s hydro potential is estimated at 1,200 MW, of which only 260 MW has so far been developed.  During the 1990s a Special Purpose company – Société de Gestion de l’Energie de Manantali (SOGEM, jointly owned by all three OMVS countries) was established.

The OMVS power system is made up of a system of Senegal River dams, the Manantali (200 MW) and Felou (60 MW) hydroelectric plants, and a 1,000-kilometer system of 225 kv transmission lines and sub-stations.  Manantali and Felou provide the lowest cost energy in the sub-region (about 7 USD cents/kwh) compared to the average cost of energy generation in the member countries (25-33 USD cents).  

The Government of Senegal objective to reach universal electricity access by 2025 relies on access to affordable electricity services in large areas of the country that are currently only partially served.  After the limited success of the rural concession model marked by high electricity tariffs in rural areas, Senegal has recently harmonized urban and rural tariffs, to the great satisfaction of the rural population.

State-owned power company Senelec still produces electricity but has a new emphasis on on gas-to-power projects.  Senegal is undertaking additional reforms to the state-owned power company, calling for the unbundling of the utility into three independent entities: production, transmission, and distribution.  The World Bank is supporting an $80 million project to reduce Senelec’s technical and commercial losses by improving transmission and distribution infrastructure.  

Sub-Sector Best Prospects

  • Gas-to-Power technologies
  • New Plant Equipment and Related Systems
  • Renewable energy solutions
  • Transmission equipment
  • Smart grid solutions
  • Off-grid and microgrid solutions for rural electrification
  • Solar household equipment
  • Energy efficiency solutions

Opportunities

The Government of Senegal is committed to diversifying its energy mix by adding solar and increasing wind to the grid.  While awaiting first gas in 2023, the government hopes to import LNG as a bridging measure and convert all current HFO plants to gas-to-power plants.  The $600 million MCC Compact offers opportunities for EPC, consulting firms, grid extension and rural electrification companies.  OMVS and OMVG offer opportunities for EPC and consulting firms, for example in environmental studies.  Energy efficiency also presents a significant opportunity to investors and businesses.  Advanced metering solutions with smart meters are also of interest since Senelec plans to replace traditional meters with smart meters.   

Resources

Ministry of Energy:  https://www.senegel.org

Senelec:  https://www.senelec.sn/

MCC:  https://www.mcc.gov/  

OMVS: https://www.omvs.org/

WAPP:  https://www.ecowapp.org/

International Exhibition and Summit on Energy and Petroleum in Africa – SIEPA – Saint Louis.

https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/sectors/energy-power.