• East African countries are preparing to launch a regional electricity market by mid-2026.

• Regulators from the Eastern Africa Power Pool are studying Southern Africa’s model.

• New transmission projects aim to link regional grids and support cross-border power trade.

East Africa is preparing to launch a regional electricity market by mid-2026, according to information reported March 2 by SolarQuarter. The Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) is working to establish the regulatory and institutional framework needed to enable electricity trading among countries in the region.

As part of that effort, regulators from the East African power pool recently conducted a study visit to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), which already operates a regional electricity market in Southern Africa. The mission was designed to examine how that system works and draw lessons for building East Africa’s future market.

The visit concluded with the signing of a memorandum of agreement on February 20 in Harare between the regulatory bodies of the two organizations. The deal calls for stronger cooperation and the sharing of technical experience to support the development of cross-border electricity trade between the two regional blocs.

At the same time, several infrastructure projects are moving forward to deepen power grid integration in East Africa. One of the most significant is the Zambia–Tanzania–Kenya (ZTK) interconnection, which is intended to link the electricity systems of Southern and Eastern Africa.

In a statement released in 2025, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said the transmission line should help facilitate electricity exchanges between the two regions while strengthening regional energy security.

These efforts are part of a broader continental program to integrate Africa’s electricity systems. In its work on the Continental Power Systems Masterplan, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) notes that the initiative aims to coordinate the development of Africa’s power infrastructure and strengthen interconnections among the continent’s various power pools.

The program, led by the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), also envisions the gradual creation of a single African electricity market, known as the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM), designed to expand cross-border power trade across the continent.

Abdel-Latif Boureima