Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Senegal - Regional Electricity Access and Battery Energy Storage Technology Project : Additional Financing

Overview & Synopsis

The development objective of the Regional Electricity Access and BEST Project for Cote d'Ivoire, Mauritania, and Senegal is to increase access to grid electricity, enhance power system stability, and increase renewable energy integration in the West Africa Power Pool. The additional financing is proposed to address a cost overrun in Cote d'Ivoire associated with the safe integration of previously procured Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) infrastructure and to scale up access activities in Mauritania and Senegal consistent with the countries’ National Energy Compacts under Mission 300. In Cote d'Ivoire, it will fund an emergency response plan and complementary safety and commissioning measures at three northern substations to enable secure connection of 105 megawatt hours of storage to the 225 kilovolt grid, including fire protection, water storage, backup power, and operator training to safeguard people, assets, and the environment. In Mauritania, it will expand medium- and low-voltage networks around existing substations to densify service in priority regions and finance the establishment of an integrated Information System (IS) for the national utility to improve billing, collections, and operational performance. In Senegal, it will extend medium- and low-voltage infrastructure to additional eligible localities in the project regions, complementing ongoing access programs to accelerate last-mile connections. The project intends to deliver new household connections, strengthen grid reliability and service quality, support integration of variable renewable energy, improve utility performance through modernized systems, and contribute to climate resilience by building robust distribution networks and enabling cleaner energy use, with systematic citizen engagement and grievance redress to sustain results.