Cote d'Ivoire
With a cumulative score of 1.37, Cote d'Ivoire ranks number 65 among emerging markets and number 94 in the global ranking.
- Emerging markets
- Middle East & Africa
1.77 / 5
Power score
0.44 / 5
Transport score
Buildings score
Only 56 markets (28 emerging markets) are scored on the Buildings sector. See the full list on the methodology page.
Low-carbon strategy
Net-zero goal and strategy
Cote d’Ivoire has yet to announce any net-zero goals.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)
The country has submitted a ‘nationally determined contribution’ (NDC) target of a 28% reduction in emissions by 2030 with respect to the business-as-usual (BAU) trajectory. An NDC is a non-binding plan to achieve the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Cote d’Ivoire’s target covers electricity production, transport, industry, energy procurement, buildings, agriculture and waste, minus land use change and forestry.
Agriculture, electricity and transport are the biggest contributors to Cote d’Ivoire’s emissions. The government aims to reduce emissions in those sectors by 7%, 6% and 8%, respectively, versus a BAU trajectory by 2030. This accounts for about 21% of the 28% emissions reduction target, and the remaining 7% will come from industry, energy procurement, buildings and waste.
Fossil fuel phase-out policy
Cote d’Ivoire does not currently have any fossil fuel phase-out policies. In fact, there are plans to commission a 700 megawatt coal power plant by 2024, equivalent to about 30% of the country’s current installed capacity.
Power
Power policy
Cote d’Ivoire’s 2014 Electricity Code provides a legal framework for renewable electricity production, but there are no other concrete laws or measures in place. The country’s clean energy policy consists of several targets, including 42% renewable energy generation by 2030. Some 26% is intended to come from mid- and large-scale hydropower, with the remaining 16% from other renewables. Today, the country generates 70% of its electricity from natural gas, with the remainder generated by hydropower. It has made no progress in its non-hydro renewable energy targets, with the exception of 37 megawatts (MW) of solar projects announced in 2018 and 60MW announced a year later. There is also controversy around a planned 700MW coal power plant due to be brought online by 2024, which is equivalent to about 30% of the country’s installed capacity today.
Power policies
Power prices and costs
Residential and low voltage commercial users have two default options for their required power. In addition, industrial users face time-of-use tariffs with three differentiated periods, while small users have a fixed charge per kilowatt-hour. Power producers on the grid are forced to sell their electricity to CIE. Take-or-pay contracts are common for independent power producers and they are calculated on an individual basis in order to be profitable to the producer.
Power market
In Cote d’Ivoire’s power market, only generation is open to private participation. Almost 60% of the 2,229MW of installed capacity is provided by three independent gas players, with the remainder from publicly-owned hydro and gas. Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricite (CIE) – the main power utility in which the government owns a 15% stake – just renewed a concession agreement to run the state-owned generation assets, as well as the transmission and distribution assets, until 2032. Under this agreement, CIE has single-buyer status on the grid, which makes off-site bilateral electricity contracts illegal, but opens the door to mini-grids and on-site power purchase agreements.
Almost 80% of Cote d’Ivoire’s population has access to electricity, up from 58% in 2010. Electrification has progressed under two government programs – the National Program for Rural Electrification (PRONER) and Electricity for All Program (PEPT). PRONER aims to electrify all villages with a population of at least 500 people within 10 kilometers of the main grid by 2020, and to reach full electrification in 2025. To help accomplish full electrification, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided almost $1 million of funding to conduct studies for off-grid solutions in areas far from the grid, expecting a total of 6-8MW of new renewable generation from up to 100 sites.
PEPT focuses on connecting homes near the grid that cannot afford the upfront connection costs, providing them with a financing plan. The program entails an initial fee of 1,000 CFA franc ($1.80) and installments over the next decade to cover the remaining 150,000 CFA franc. As a result, over 1 million homes have been connected as of March 2021.
Finally, there is the Project to Strengthen the Structures of the Electricity System and Access to Electricity Phase I (PROSER I). Its estimated cost is 156 million euros ($184 million), of which 69 million euros will be provided as a loan from the African Development Bank Group over four years.
Installed Capacity (in MW)
Electricity Generation (in GWh)
Utility privatisation
Which segments of the power sector are open to private participation?
Wholesale power market
Does the country have a wholesale power market?
Doing business and barriers
CIE’s single-buyer status on the grid is a fundamental barrier to off-site bilateral electricity contracts, but there is scope for mini-grids and on-site power purchase agreements.
Currency of PPAs
Are PPAs signed in or indexed to U.S. Dollars or Euro?
Bilateral power contracts
Can a C&I (Commercial and Industrial) customer sign a long-term contract (PPA) for clean energy?
Fossil fuel subsidies
Does the government influence the wholesale price of fossil fuel (used by thermal power plants) down through subsidies?
Bilateral power contracts
Can a C&I (Commercial and Industrial) customer sign a long-term contract (PPA) for clean energy?
Bilateral power contracts
Can a C&I (Commercial and Industrial) customer sign a long-term contract (PPA) for clean energy?
Fossil fuel taxes
Does the government influence the wholesale price of fossil fuel (used by thermal power plants) up through taxes?
Transport
EV market
The government has yet to implement any substantive policy support in this sector and the electric vehicle market remains at an early stage.
EV policy
The government has yet to implement any substantial policy support in the sector and the EV market remains at an early stage.
Transport policies
Fuel economy standards
Does the country have a fuel economy standard in place?
Buildings
Buildings market
The government has yet to implement any substantive policy support in this sector and the low-carbon heat market remains immaterial in a subtropical country.
Energy efficiency plan
Does the country have a national energy efficiency plan?
Energy performance standards
Are there minimum energy performance standards for buildings?
Buildings policy
The government has yet to implement any substantive policy support in this sector and the low-carbon heat market remains at an early stage.
