The fifth meeting of the Steering Committee of the Regional Electrification Access and Battery Energy Storage Technology Project (BEST) was held on the 17^th and 18^th of November 2025 in Dakar, Senegal.  The Steering Committee constitutes a key governance mechanism for the project to review progress, examine implementation challenges, validate strategic orientations, and strengthen coordination among all teams involved in the project.

Chaired by Mr. William Baidoe, ECOWAS Acting Director of Energy and Mines, the meeting brought together the representative of Ministry of Finance, representative of Ministry of Energy, and representative of Power Utility from each of the recipient countries as well Coordinators and Members of the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) and the Project Implementation Units (PIUs).

The Steering Committee made several recommendations to address the issues identified, adopted the 2026 annual work plan and budget of the RCU and PIUs, and stress the need for each Units to redouble efforts in monitoring contractors in order to minimise delays.

The Regional Electricity Access and Battery Energy Storage Technology Project (BEST), financed by the World Bank for an amount of USD 465 million, aims to increase access to electricity in rural areas and install energy storage systems to enhance grid stability and further integrate renewable energy into the WAPP interconnected system. The project covers five countries (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire), and will allow electrification of 2,201 localities, installation of 205 MWh of Battery storage capacity and 235,000 new households connection.