Electricity trading between African countries is expanding faster than many policymakers expected just a decade ago. This quiet revolution is being driven by the strategic development of regional power pools, which are increasingly central to national energy planning strategies across the continent.
Regional power pools like the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), West African Power Pool (WAPP), and Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) are enabling utilities to exchange surplus electricity across borders. This improves system stability and lowers generation costs, particularly during peak demand periods. For instance, the SAPP, comprising 17 members from 12 countries, recorded a traded volume of 85.9 GWh in March 2026, with Day-Ahead Market (DAM) volumes in October 2025 showing a 44% increase compared to the previous year.
The WAPP officially launched its regional market in 2018 and recently achieved a significant milestone with the synchronization of the West African power grid in late 2025, aiming to integrate a peak load of around 11.5 GW.
Power trading significantly reduces reliance on expensive emergency generation. Instead of building redundant domestic capacity, countries can import electricity when shortages occur and export surplus generation when supply exceeds demand, thereby improving overall system efficiency.
This is particularly evident in the EAPP, where cross-border interconnection capacity is projected to surge from 654 MW in 2020 to 4,720 MW by 2025, driven by large hydropower projects.
Hydropower-rich countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, can supply electricity during wet seasons, while solar-heavy systems in countries like South Africa and Morocco contribute daytime generation across regional networks. These complementary resource patterns, including gas from Nigeria and Mozambique, strengthen reliability across interconnected grids.
Transmission interconnections remain critical. Without robust cross-border transmission lines, electricity markets cannot function efficiently. Governments are therefore prioritising regional infrastructure corridors designed specifically to support power trading expansion, such as the Tanzania-Zambia Interconnector linking SAPP to EAPP.
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Private investors are also entering the market. Independent power producers (IPPs) are exploring opportunities to sell electricity across borders through long-term agreements with utilities participating in regional pools. This shift is facilitated by energy market reforms accelerating across several African countries, which are introducing regulatory changes to allow private generators easier access to transmission networks and cross-border electricity sales.
As regional electricity trading continues expanding, integrated African power markets are becoming a central pillar of the continent’s long-term energy security strategy.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
