GE Vernova powers West Africa’s energy exchange

GE Vernova has announced the deployment of its GridOS orchestration software at the newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, for the West African Power Pool (WAPP).

The ICC will act as the command centre for 14 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) nations, overseeing interconnected power grids across West Africa, which includes countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.

This initiative supports the establishment of a unified power market, boosting energy reliability, sustainability, and affordability across the region.

ICC is equipped with modern grid management technologies, such as GE Vernova’s Energy Management System (EMS), Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS), and Advanced Market Management System, improving cross-border power trade.

The facility features GE Vernova’s forecasting solution to optimize the value of renewable energy by providing near real-time access to data, enabling efficient power distribution.

This development is in line with growing energy demand in Africa, projected to increase as the region’s GDP rises. The ICC and WAPP play a critical role in balancing generation and demand, supporting the continent’s energy transformation.

“We are honored to partner with WAPP in their mission to promote and develop power generation and transmission infrastructures, as well as to coordinate power exchange among the ECOWAS member states. Our GridOS portfolio provides the ICC with modern software capabilities to automate grid operations and help increase the energy transaction rate across the region, helping overcome energy challenges in the ECOWAS zone,” said Mahesh Sudhakaran, General Manager for GE Vernova’s Grid Software business.

GE Vernova has long worked with national electric utilities and regional power pools from the region, helping them adopt best-in-class technologies for grid modernization.

In November 2022, the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) inaugurated a new Coordination Control Center equipped with the latest Energy Management System (EMS) from GE Vernova’s Grid Software business. With more projects underway, GE Vernova is proud to be contributing to the energy transition in Africa.