ECOWAS to hold Industry Ministers and Experts’ Meeting to validate draft Regional Standards, Technical Guidelines on Lead Paint, Revised ECOSHAM Document and Draft Policy Guidelines for the Automotive Industry.

Ministers and Experts in charge of quality management, energy and industry from ECOWAS Member States are to meet from 27 to 30 March 2023 in Banjul, capital of The Gambia, to discuss, review, and validate the report of the last ECOSHAM Technical Management Committee (TMC) meeting on Standards. The Standards will be submitted to the ECOWAS Council of Ministers for adoption after validation in Banjul. This meeting is jointly organised by the ROGEAP Project Committee, the Directorate of Industry of the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE).

The following Standards will be discussed and validated at the Banjul meeting: ECOSTAND IEC TS 62257-9-8:2020: Renewable energy and hybrid systems for rural electrification-Part 9-8: Integrated Systems; ECOSTAND IEC TS 62257-9-5:2018: Recommendations for Renewable energy and hybrid systems for rural electrification-Part 9-5; ECOSTAND 109.2022: Guidelines for installing Mini-grid Solar PV Systems; ECOSTAND 110:2022: Minimum technical requirements for installing Mini-grid Solar PV Systems; ECOSTAND 111:2022: Minimum technical requirements for installing Mini-grid Solar PV Systems; ECOSTAND 112:2022: Minimum performance standard for Mini-Grid Inverters and the ECOWAS Revised Harmonisation Model (ECOSHAM) set by the TMC.

Among participants at this meeting are specialists from the ECOWAS Standards Harmonisation Model (ECOSHAM) Secretariat, the ECOSHAM Regional Technical Harmonisation Committee on Norms and Standards of Electrotechnical Products (THC5), the ECOSHAM Technical Management Committee (TMC), representatives of the ECOWAS Commission, the ROGEAP Project, ECREEE, VERASOL, and Experts and Ministers of ECOWAS Member States in charge of quality and/or energy management (Ministers of Industry).

This activity is part of the missions of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project of the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation of the ECOWAS Commission. Specifically, under item (c) of its terms of reference, where it is charged with promoting quality standards in the project countries to assist in developing a Quality Assurance (QA) framework for off-grid Solar PV systems for institutional use in health facilities, schools and government offices to ensure the long-term performance of these systems.