Togo has announced its intention to electrify 14 rural areas of the country with off-grid solar energy. The initiative will be implemented with the support of the cartel council and will connect nearly 1000 households. Several other projects are underway or in preparation, with the aim of achieving 50% access to electricity in rural areas by 2030.
“Our commitment to developing the off grid is reflected here in Togo. We are continuing its development in this country and in the other member states of the organisation.” It is in these terms that Patrice Kwamé, Executive Secretary of the Council of the Entente, unveiled the organisation’s plans for Togo. It plans to install off-grid solar panels in 14 villages in Togo. They are located in the central regions, Kara and the savannah, among others.
The Council of the Entente is a West African regional economic cooperation organisation. It includes several countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Niger. A few months earlier, this institution financed the distribution of solar kits to 350 households in rural Togo. The project was implemented by the Togolese Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Agency. A series of actions that could enable Togo to achieve its ambition to increase from 8% (current electrification rate in rural areas) to 50% in 2030.
Togo wants to electrify 300,000 households in five years
To this end, Togo launched in December 2017, the rural electrification programme using solar kits, entitled Cizo. The assessment produced in July 2019 established that this initiative had made it possible to equip more than 23,000 households with solar kits. This programme also enabled the Electricity Company of Togo (CEET) to build 65,000 social connections. Togo does not intend to stop there. Through the Cizo project, the government plans to implement at least 300,000 solar systems across the country.
The government is still waiting for funding from the West African Development Bank (BOAD) to install mini solar networks in 317 villages across the country. This project includes the development, co-financing, construction and maintenance of mini solar networks and distribution networks. It also takes into account the distribution, marketing of electricity to customers and transfer at the end of the contract.
Luchelle Feukeng
