Xinhua Finance, Dakar, February 12 — SENELEC, Senegal’s electricity distribution company, announced on the 12th plans to complete grid coverage for 6,471 unelectrified villages across the country by 2029, with a total project investment of more than 400 billion CFA francs (approximately 725 million US dollars), striving to achieve universal electricity access.
Ojbi Dieng, Chief Director of the Equipment Department at SENELEC, stated at the commissioning ceremony of power facilities in Kaolack, western Senegal, that 6,471 villages nationwide still remain unconnected to the national grid. The company, in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Mines, has completed investment calculations; the World Bank has clearly expressed support for the plan, and relevant financing is expected to be finalized in the near future. Once funding is in place, grid extension and supporting substation projects will be fully launched, with the goal of achieving full national power coverage by 2029.
In its Electricity Outlook report released on February 6, the International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that Senegal’s current national electricity access rate stands at around 84 percent. Based on an annual increase of 2.9 percentage points, the country is on track to achieve universal electrification by 2029, ahead of the 2030 deadline set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Data shows that urban electricity access in Senegal is nearly saturated, while low rural electrification represents the main bottleneck to achieving universal power access. The upcoming village grid construction will effectively narrow the urban-rural gap in electricity access.
Analysts pointed out that with the commissioning of domestic natural gas projects, the optimization of the power supply structure, and increased international financing support, investment in Senegal’s energy sector is entering a period of concentrated release. Once the rural electrification project is implemented, it will improve living conditions for residents, provide solid support for the development of agricultural product processing, micro-manufacturing and the digital economy, and strengthen the endogenous drivers of economic growth.
Meanwhile, industry insiders noted that project implementation efficiency, the pace of financing disbursement, and the sustainability of rural power operations remain key to determining whether the target can be achieved on schedule.
