The Power Sector: Côte d'Ivoire's Generation Mix and Regional Electricity Exports

A reliable power supply is a precondition for setting up factories, logistics operations and data centres. Over the past decade or so, Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer) has more than doubled its generating capacity, and it is one of the few West African countries able to sell electricity to its neighbours. Understanding its power sector helps you assess investment and operating conditions.

Generation mix: mainly thermal, supplemented by hydro

According to data published by Côte d'Ivoire's economic authorities, national installed capacity rose from 1,391 MW in 2011 to 3,019 MW in 2024, an increase of about 117%. The 2024 breakdown was as follows:

Grid-connected generation reached about 13,919 GWh in 2024, compared with about 8,608 GWh in 2015. The main hydropower plants include Kossou, Taabo, Buyo, Soubré and Gribo-Popoli; the thermal plants include Vridi, CIPREL, AZITO and Atinkou. Boundiali, in the north, is the country's first large-scale solar power plant.

Who's who: who generates and who sells

Côte d'Ivoire's power sector operates on a public–private partnership model. The government sets policy; the state-owned CI-ENERGIES handles project management for power infrastructure; ANARE-CI is the sector regulator; and the Compagnie Ivoirienne d'Électricité (CIE) operates under a concession, responsible for dispatch, transmission, distribution and sales. On the generation side there are a number of independent power producers (IPPs), such as CIPREL and AZITO, which operate under BOOT concessions; natural gas for the power plants comes from operators such as Foxtrot, CNR and PETROCI.

Access is expanding too: the share of electrified localities rose from about 46% in 2017 to about 94% in 2024.

Regional electricity exports

Côte d'Ivoire sells electricity to its neighbours via cross-border transmission lines. Official export figures are as follows:

CLSG is a regional grid project linking Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. In 2024, exports accounted for about 5.2% of national generation, a lower share than in previous years.

2030 targets

The government plans to raise installed capacity to more than about 5,000 MW by 2030 and to bring renewables to about 45% of the electricity mix. Planned projects include several solar plants, the Songon thermal plant, the Aboisso biomass plant, and hydropower plants such as Singrobo-Ahouaty and Boutoubré.

One line for Asian companies

If you work in solar, grid equipment or energy-efficiency technology, Côte d'Ivoire's goal of "raising the share of renewables" is a clear market signal; to track specific tenders and partnership opportunities, start with announcements from CI-ENERGIES and the ministry in charge of energy.

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References: Economie-ivoirienne.ci – Électricité (2025); Economie-ivoirienne.ci – Une ambition de 5 000 MW à l'horizon 2030 (2025); Connectionivoirienne – Côte d'Ivoire 3000 MW (2025)