The main institutions sharing the responsibility in the energy sector in Mali are: The Ministry for Energy and Water (MEE), within MEE the national directories for energy (DNE), and Commission de Régulation de l'Electricité et de l'Eau (CREE)the regulatory authority of the water and electricity sector. As of 2014, Energie du Mali SA (EDM) has an estimated total installed capacity of around 400 MW, including both grid interconnected and isolated systems. Including cross border connections with Senegal, Mauritania and Ivory Coast as part of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) - this capacity increases to over 500 MW.  In 2015 Scatec Solar, Norwegian project developer, signed an agreement with EDM and MEE to build a 33MW solar plant, the first utility scale solar plant in West Africa.

In 2005 AMADER, the Malian Agency for rural electrification and household energy, started the installation of 200 rural mini-grids (mainly diesel) funded by the World Bank. However fuel costs have limited the use of these installations run by private operators and NGOs. The World Bank and African Development Bank, through the Scaling up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP), has provided AMADER additional funding to convert these mini-grids from diesel to solar. Based on 2013 data, Mali’s national electrification rate reached 26%, (9% in rural areas, 53% in urban areas).

Sources:

• www.edm-sa.com.ml (last updated 05/27/2014)
• www.africa24.it