MONROVIA –The Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), through its Managing Director Mohammed Sheriff, has outlined key factors responsible for the inadequate supply of electricity affecting public and private institutions, households, and businesses across Monrovia and other parts of Liberia.
By Obediah Johnson
In recent months, electricity supply has become increasingly unstable, forcing the LEC to reintroduce load shedding and frequent outages. Appearing before the Plenary of the Liberian Senate on Tuesday, March 17, Sheriff explained that the situation is largely tied to external supply disruptions and longstanding financial obligations.
According to him, Liberia had been receiving over 50 megawatts of electricity from Ivory Coast. However, a technical fault in that country’s hydroelectric system resulted in a loss of approximately 200 megawatts of generation capacity.
As a consequence, Ivory Coast reduced its electricity exports to Liberia from over 50 megawatts to around 10 megawatts.
Sheriff further disclosed that Liberia has been placed on a “red line” by Ivory Coast due to outstanding debts accumulated under the previous administration. He noted that this indebtedness, combined with the technical issues affecting Ivory Coast’s generation capacity, prompted the neighboring country to prioritize domestic supply over exports.
“When that happened, their first dispatch of priority was to look internally and supply themselves before considering external commitments,” Sheriff stated.
He acknowledged that the reduction in imported electricity has significantly weakened the LEC’s ability to meet the growing demand from customers nationwide. As a result, the corporation has been compelled to resume load shedding and scheduled outages.
Sheriff also revealed that electricity demand stood at approximately 92 megawatts when he assumed leadership at the LEC. Through collaboration with stakeholders, demand has since increased to about 140 megawatts.
He emphasized that the corporation is working with Independent Power Producers to boost generation, although expanding capacity remains a long-term process.
“You do not build generation overnight. It takes between 12 to 18 months to establish a generation facility,” he explained. “We therefore focused on rehabilitating our thermal plants and hydro facilities, repairing engines, and introducing innovations to improve output.”
Despite existing debts, Sheriff noted that Ivory Coast continued supplying electricity to Liberia for several months, contributing to a period of relative stability from June through December and into early January. During that time, load shedding was drastically reduced from eight to twelve hours daily to nearly zero.
He recalled that electricity supply across Montserrado County and other regions remained stable during that period, largely due to consistent imports from Ivory Coast and improvements in domestic generation.
Looking ahead, Sheriff disclosed that the LEC plans to expand electricity access across Liberia. The corporation intends to conduct studies to identify communities for new connections and aims to connect approximately 100,000 customers annually. Of that number, about 60,000 will be connected to the national grid, while 40,000 will benefit from off-grid solutions.
He stressed that the LEC will continue collaborating with the private sector to strengthen generation capacity and ensure long-term energy security.
“Our goal between now and 2030 is to reach between 500 and 700 megawatts,” Sheriff added.
