History of APUA

The Association of Electricity Companies of Africa is a continental non-profit organization. Created in 1970 under the name of "Union of Producers, Transporters and Distributors of Electrical Energy of Africa (UPDEA)", with its headquarters in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire).

The name change occurred in 2012 following the adoption of a five-year strategic action plan to rejuvenate the organization and make it an association that adds value to its members.

The purpose of APUA is to promote the integration and development of the electric power sector in Africa through active cooperation between the members on the one hand and all international actors in the energy sector as well as financing institutions on the other hand.

The objectives of APUA are to :

  • Promote and facilitate regional integration and exchanges, particularly through African power pools including the coordination of the Regional Power Pools Forum;
  • Promote and facilitate the development of clean energy mechanisms, including the reduction of carbon emissions into the atmosphere;
  • Promote and facilitate energy efficiency;
  • Promote and facilitate rural electrification;
  • Facilitating investment and development of renewable energy in Africa;
  • Facilitating the mobilization of public and private sector investment for electricity infrastructure in Africa;
  • Promote and facilitate innovation, research and development of the power sector in Africa;
  • Facilitate capacity building and identification of centers of excellence in Africa;
  • Promote training and leadership development in the electrical sector;
  • Ensure the consolidation of data on the power sector in Africa, in collaboration with the power pools, to become a source of reliable and accurate information;
  • Facilitate the development of enabling and uniform regulatory policies to facilitate the development of electricity infrastructure in all regions of Africa;
  • Facilitating the development of regional energy plans in Africa ;
  • Facilitate the mobilization of investment funds for energy projects from the idea stage through pre-feasibility, feasibility and project financing;
  • Facilitate the collaboration of electrical equipment manufacturers through AFSEC (African Electrotechnical Standards Commission);
  • Promoting good corporate governance;
  • Facilitate intra-African electrical interconnections as well as electrical interconnections with Europe and the Middle East