Algeria, Libya and Tunisia are one step away from electrical interconnection
Achieving electrical interconnection is the objective that Algeria, Libya and Tunisia have set themselves in order to provide better guarantees for their citizens, especially in the summer months when peaks in energy use generate long blackouts.
Despite the fact that Algeria's electrical capacity is much higher than that of Libya and Tunisia, the interconnection project could, on the one hand, increase their energy dependence on Algeria; and, on the other hand, it would represent a factor of pressure in relation to external affairs, both Tunisian and Libyan. Furthermore, Algeria's strong position could impose energy policies and condition supply according to its interests.
‘The political dimension of each country cannot be ignored, but the destiny of these neighbouring Maghreb countries is to strengthen their partnerships’, Murad Allala, political analyst and writer.
Tunisia is called upon to seek new energy sources since it is the only one of the three that does not have large oil and gas reserves, so they are at a disadvantage. On the other hand, Algeria needs the stability of its neighbouring countries in order to strengthen bilateral relations.
Sonelgaz Group
The Algerian company Sonelgaz Group, one of the largest in the North African country, has established a new roadmap with the aim of achieving a reliable electrical interconnection with Tunisia and Libya, in what would be its most ambitious project since it was founded in 1969.
In the words of the Director of Studies, Habib Mohamed El Akhdar, talks are ongoing and firm agreements will soon be reached to initiate the studies necessary to make the plan a reality.
He also emphasised that Sonelgaz's development plan also focuses on international expansion, specifically to the North African region and neighbouring countries. He clarified that the company has the capacity to support a large part of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the field of electricity.
As a success story, El Akhdar alluded to the power plant built in Niger, which will come into operation this summer, a time when the Sahelian country suffers from blackouts that affect the main urban centres, which are increasingly populated.
Energy in exchange for support
Algeria's advantageous position in terms of energy compared to its neighbours has been considered by numerous observers as an attempt to gain power and influence over the countries around it, in an attempt to hide its diplomatic failures, such as: the absence of the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, at the Extraordinary Arab Summit held in Cairo; the failure to secure the release of Polisario Front prisoners still in Syria; the insinuation by the Minister of Communication that there is a media campaign against the country, alluding to an ‘army of more than 8,000 journalists conspiring against Algiers’; or the veto at the last Peace and Security Council of the African Union.
Algeria is aware that the stability of its situation depends on the stability of Tunisia and Libya. Another factor to take into account is its dependence in terms of security. The Algerian government is particularly keen to maintain good relations with Tunisia due to the importance, for the Algerian military regime, of the gas pipeline that connects the African continent along the Tunisian coast with the Italian peninsula via the island of Sicily.
Principle of agreement
Despite the fact that there are many doubts about the viability of the project, last November the first electrical interconnection test between the three countries was carried out, which lasted more than 24 hours, and in which between 400 and 500 megawatts were exchanged with total success.
Libya has strengthened its energy relations with Algeria, especially after the severe blackouts of recent years. In November 2023, Algeria sent 800 megawatts of emergency electricity to Tunisia after a country-wide blackout. In turn, Libya received 265 megawatts of energy from Algeria, representing the first direct electricity transfer between the two nations.
This first trial demonstrated that the problem does not lie in the solidity of the project but in its application and interests. A priori, it seems that the intention is to go ahead with the plan, given that, in April, the presidents of the three countries gave the go-ahead for the approval of future plans that will help the three states to solve their energy problems.
The three nations have multiple interests, but as there is a certain inequality in terms of the bargaining power of each, important questions arise as to whether cooperation in the field of electrical energy is totally egalitarian, has political overtones, promotes energy independence, or perpetuates the energy dependence of the three countries.