One of the more interesting facts that I picked up at the Africa Energy Indaba this year (2026) was that there are plans to join the African regional power pools into one lovely energy grid that traverses the continent. The conversation dredged up memories of my days manning Enerweb’s support desk for Eskom’s KSACS (Key Sales and Customer Services) Energy trading unit, thus piquing my interest.
The mammoth task will involve making changes to the electricity infrastructure to enable the Southern African Power Pool that Eskom is a part of to connect with power pools around the continent. This network includes the Eastern African Power Pool, The West African Power Pool, the Central African Power Pool, and the Maghreb Electricity Committee. From here, the power pools will connect beyond the continent to Asia and Europe. I suppose this could potentially allow an Independent Power Producer in the Western Cape of South Africa to sell electricity to an organization in Germany?
Within the energy supply chain, one would have to consider factors beyond the Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Storage that traditional electricity power producing organizations need to consider. Alongside the requirements of building such a connected electricity network, the IT-intensive power trading infrastructure will need to be considered. This infrastructure will require the maintenance of databases that log how much electricity is produced and delivered to each location.
The software used will need to make room for the wheeling costs that are incurred when electricity dissipates from the electrical network while on its way to the intended destination. Contracts will need to be developed between countries, organizations, and Independent Power Producers. While the trading is taking place on a daily basis, fluctuations in currency exchange rates will need to be catered for, making electricity a commodity whose regional and global trade is more lucrative during certain seasons and times of the day. Rules and regulations of trading energy between the current power pool regions will need to be standardized, and prices adjusted for differences between them.
It is no wonder then that when this plan was initially conceived in 2001, it became a part of The African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Considering the long term planning that needs to take place for the vision to materialize, I am curious as to whether there are any members of Generation Z and Alpha out there who have considered adopting this project for the long haul? If you need to be inspired on what to consider when managing suppliers within this mega-infrastructure, may I suggest you get a head start by reading Chapter 10 of “Managing IT Suppliers: A Practical Guide to Vendor Management“.
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