Senegal Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in senegal, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Energy
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Diversifying the country’s energy sources and modernizing the energy sector is a top priority for the Government of Senegal, as outlined in Senegal’s ambitious Vision 2050 plan. Priorities include reduction of energy costs through diversified energy sources, addition of generation capacities to meet a growing demand, regional energy integration, a shift from heavy fuel oil to domestic natural gas, and increased energy access in rural areas. Due to dependence on expensive liquid fuels for 90 percent of power generation, Senegal has some of the highest generation costs in Africa.  

While electricity generation costs range from 34 to 38 cents per kilowatt hour, consumers pay roughly 24 cents per kilowatt hour with the difference covered by government subsidies. Comparatively, the average electricity tariff is 11 cents per kilowatt hour in Cote d’Ivoire, 6 cents in Nigeria and 9 cents in Ghana. Through the previous administration’s “Gas to Power” strategy, Senegal began a major transition that aimed to achieve universal access to electricity by 2025, convert heavy fuel oil power plants to run on LNG, and reach 40 percent renewable energies in the production mix of electricity by 2030. 

Universal access has not yet been achieved, but Senegal has made notable progress in electricity access, and the new administration is continuing this transition with adapted targets under Vision 2050. Senegal now aims to increase electricity production from 1,740 megawatts (MW) to 12,000 MW by 2050, and the government announced in May 2025 the Bel Air power plant, one of the country’s largest with a capacity of 335 megawatts, had begun the conversion to run on LNG.  

Various complementary U.S. Government investments are supporting Senegal’s ambitious agenda. The Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) granted Senegal a five-year second compact focused on strengthening the energy sector in 2018. The compact is designed to secure a reliable supply of electricity for Senegalese citizens and businesses and create a sustainable operational environment, supporting the Government of Senegal to meet the country’s increasing demand for electricity and to unlock greater potential for private sector investments and economic opportunities.  

These ambitious goals will be achieved through investments in three complementary projects: Transmission Project which aims to improve the transmission network in and around Dakar; the Access Project to increase electricity access in agricultural areas of the south and central regions; and the Reform Project which will improve the overall governance of the sector. Established in January 2020 by a decree, MCA-Senegal II is the Government of Senegal entity that partners with MCC to implement the $550 million Senegal Power Compact, with a supplemental $50 million from the Government of Senegal for a total $600 million program. The compact entered into force on September 9, 2021 and will end September 8, 2026.

The Government of Senegal, through several reforms of its electricity code in 2021, is promoting private sector involvement in electricity generation and distribution through delivery of concessions and licenses under the oversight of an independent electricity sector regulator, the Commission de Régulation du Secteur de l’Energie (CRSE). The law also calls for scaling up rural electrification by transferring responsibility to service rural areas from SENELEC — the national utility which previously held a monopoly in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution — to a dedicated rural electrification agency set up in 1999 as the Agence Sénégalaise d’Electrification Rurale (ASER).   

Senegal is committed to renewable energy resources, with approximately one-third of its energy mix coming from renewables. In February 2020, then-President Sall officially inaugurated the first phase of the Taiba Ndiaye Wind Park, Senegal’s first utility-scale wind project which, when completed, will be the largest in West Africa.  Phase One’s 16 turbines began supplying 50 MW of electricity to Senegal’s grid in December 2019, while additional phases since July 2021 add 108 MW, increasing the country’s electricity supply by 15 percent. 
Senegal supports regional energy cooperation as a member of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and is a member of regional organizations to develop hydroelectricity resources on the Senegal (OMVS – Senegal River Basin Development Organization) and Gambia (OMVG – Gambia River Basin Development Organization) rivers. In 1972 the governments of Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania established the OMVS with a mandate to ensure a multi-purpose water resource development, including electricity supply. The Senegal River Basin’s hydro potential is estimated at 1,200 MW, of which only 260 MW has so far been developed.  During the 1990s a Special Purpose company – Société de Gestion de l’Energie de Manantali (SOGEM, jointly owned by all three OMVS countries) was established. 

The OMVS power system is made up of a system of Senegal River dams, the Manantali (200 MW) and Felou (60 MW) hydroelectric plants, and a 620-mile system of 225 kv transmission lines and sub-stations.  Manantali and Felou provide the lowest energy cost in the sub-region (about 7 USD cents/kwh) compared to the average cost of energy generation in the member countries (25-33 USD cents).   

The Government of Senegal objective to reach universal electricity access by 2025 relies on access to affordable electricity services in large areas of the country that are currently only partially served. After the limited success of the rural concession model marked by high electricity tariffs in rural areas, Senegal has recently harmonized urban and rural tariffs, to the great satisfaction of the rural population. 

State-owned power company SENELEC still produces electricity but has a new emphasis on gas-to-power projects. Senegal is undertaking additional reforms to the state-owned power company, through investment in technical assistance, improvement of profitability and cash flow, provision of software and IT equipment for asset management, and operations and maintenance.  The World Bank is supporting an $80 million project to reduce SENELEC’s technical and commercial losses by improving transmission and distribution infrastructure.   

Sub-sector Best Prospects 

•    Gas-to-Power technologies 
•    New Plant Equipment and Related Systems 
•    Renewable energy solutions 
•    Transmission equipment 
•    Smart grid solutions 
•    Off-grid and micro grid solutions for rural electrification 
•    Solar household equipment 
•    Energy efficiency solutions 

Opportunities 

The Government of Senegal is committed to diversifying its energy mix by adding solar and increasing wind to the grid. With the arrival of the first oil and gas in 2024, the government is now looking to expand its oil refining capacity and convert more power plants to run on LNG. Senegal remains a large exporter of crude while production exceeds its domestic refining capacity and remains a large importer of LNG given its nascent domestic production. Projects funded by MCC, Weldy Lamont, WB, AFD, GIZ, EU, OMVS and OMVG offer opportunities for EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), grid extension, rural electrification, and consulting firms. Energy efficiency also presents a significant opportunity to investors and businesses.  Advanced metering solutions with smart meters are also of interest since SENELEC plans to replace traditional meters with smart meters.  

Resources 

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