But Not Immediate End To Outages, As LEC Says It Has “Developed An Enhanced Load Management Strategy”
PHOTO: Thomas Gonkewon, Interim Managing Director, LEC
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
In the wake of frequent interruptions of power supply from the national grid which has sparked public outcry, the newly appointed interim management at the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has vowed to minimize the situation.
LEC’s LEC’s Interim Managing Director, Thomas Gonkewon reaffirmed his management’s commitment to minimizing power outages and ensuring reliable electricity supply for our valued customers.
Addressing a press conference in Monrovia at the weekend, he said to achieve this, the state-owned corporation has developed an enhanced load management strategy focused on customer satisfaction and power reliability
Mr. Gonkewon added that ensuring that no community experiences power outages exceeding eight hours at a time.
According to him, the corporation will provide clear and transparent updates to customers regarding load management schedules to foster trust and understanding.
Whatever this is in practice remains to be seen, as thousands of LEC’s customers remain on edge awaiting an ease or complete end to the frequent power outages that appear to have spared no community.
“Strengthening our 24-hour customer service capabilities to promptly address technical issues and respond to customer inquiries,” the LEC interim managing director told the media.
“In the final quarter of 2024,” he went on “the previous management submitted a new tariff proposal to the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC).”
Mr. Gonkewon pointed out that his proposal was necessary following the expiration of the existing tariff structure on December 31, 2024.
“The proposed tariff, covering the period from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027, was designed to enable LEC to recover its operational costs while ensuring a reasonable return on investment, in line with regulatory guidelines.
“We have withdrawn the initial proposal to allow for revisions and further improvements and the revised proposal will be resubmitted for regulatory approval.”
The interim management team assured the public of its commitment to maintaining transparency throughout the process and ensuring that the proposed tariff adjustments are in the best interest of both the corporation and its customers.
According to LEC boss, the existing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Cote d’Ivoire Energies (CI-ENERGIES), Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Électricité (CIE), and the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), which ensured the annual supply of 25 megawatts of electricity through the CLSG Transmission Line, expired on December 31, 2024.
Gonkewon disclosed that the management of LEC has successfully negotiated and finalized a new Power Purchase Agreement with our Ivorian counterparts, Cote d’Ivoire Energies, securing a 50MW energy supply.
“Additionally,” he said, “provisions have been made to procure additional 20MW of energy, referred to as “Extra Energy”, during the operating period”
We would like to emphasize that during the execution of this agreement, there may be instances where load adjustments or changes are unavoidable due to unforeseen technical issues in energy generation, which are beyond LEC’s control.
Efforts to enhance Liberia’s energy infrastructure
On efforts to enhance Liberia’s energy infrastructure, he maintained that three of the four turbines at the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant are operational, while one turbine remains temporarily out of service due to an insulation failure in the stator unit.
To address this issue, the LEC boss noted that a financing package of $5.5 million has been secured through the World Bank’s LESSAP project for the necessary repairs.
The procurement process has been successfully completed, and the contract was awarded to SINOHYDRO Corporation Limited on December 23, 2024 and repair works are expected to commence by March 2025 and will be completed by March 2026, following the fulfillment of key contract conditions, including the submission of performance and advance payment guarantees.
Once completed, these efforts will restore Mt. Coffee’s original installation capacity of 88MW.
Additionally, the construction of a 20MWp solar power plant at Mt. Coffee, being executed by the International Consolidated Contractors, is currently underway and is slated for completion by October 2025 at the cost 16 million United States Dollars financed by the World Bank under the RESPITE Project.
Moreover, the expansion of the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant, which involves the addition of two new turbines, has been approved with a $62 million allocation under the same World Bank financing.
This project will increase Mt. Coffee’s installed capacity by over 50%, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of Liberia’s energy infrastructure and the enhancement of the nation’s power generation capabilities.
According to him, the government has prioritized the construction of a new hydro dam called (SP2), to be located upstream of the St. Paul River in Bong County.
This project, which aims to generate an additional 150-200MW of power, is currently in the feasibility study phase, with engineering and environmental assessments expected to be completed in the coming months at the cost between $600 to $700 million.