Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, language: English, abstract: Despite the rhetoric of energy independence, sub-regional trade in energy has long been the desire of nations as a means of achieving energy security in their various states. This interplay is governed by certain rules and regulations that ensure a free and open market system amongst the countries that participate in them. This paper seeks to show the emergence and development of an open and competitive energy market under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) energy protocol. It examines the multi-polarity of the sub regional energy market and its existing legal framework as regards the constraints in providing an open and competitive market.