Monrovia-The Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with CI-Energies in Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire to supply electricity to Liberia.
The Interim Managing Director, Mr. Thomas Z. Gonkerwon, thanked the management of both CIE and CI-Energies for their unflinching support to the energy sector of Liberia.
Monrovia-The Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with CI-Energies in Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire to supply electricity to Liberia.
The Interim Managing Director, Mr. Thomas Z. Gonkerwon, thanked the management of both CIE and CI-Energies for their unflinching support to the energy sector of Liberia.
He acknowledged the series of discussions held with the two institutions and highlighted that by agreeing to supply Liberia energy even before all the legal arrangements, CIE and CI-Energies have shown a sign of brotherhood and African solidarity.
LEC’s PPA with CI Energies and CIE remains a commercial agreement for the purchase and supply of electricity, which has, over the years, provided capacity for LEC to meet its energy demand.
Through the newly signed PPA, LEC’s contracted supply is 50 megawatts of electricity from its Ivorian counterpart.
Mr. DJaha Kouadio Ambroise, Asset Manager at CI-Energies, welcomed the Liberian delegation and appreciated the LEC for always making efforts to abide by the terms of these agreements.
He informed the LEC of the technical challenges that CI-Energies has faced since last year, which has reduced its production.
According to CI Energies, the PPA is for a 3-year term and is renewable. “All parties will have to respect their role as per the agreement to make it sustainable,” said Mr Noumory Sidibe, Director General of CI Energies.
He further stated that for CI Energies and CIE to continue to effectively supply LEC with the power that they need, LEC must continue to be in good standing; by this, we all would have respected the terms and conditions of this agreement.
Mr. Gonkerwon assured his Ivorian counterparts that the Government of Liberia has prioritized the energy sector and has instructed the LEC to install prepaid meters at all government institutions except medical facilities. By doing so, electricity will now be used effectively and efficiently. Electricity serves as a catalyst for economic growth.
Hence, the LEC has embarked on a mission to connect more large users, for example, the Industrial Park along the Somalia drive, whose demand is around 27 megawatts and the industrial free zone.
As Liberia prepares to meet its future energy needs, LEC has initiated a solar farm project which is expected to go live in October 2025, the repair of Unit 1 at the Mount Coffee Hydro Power Plant is also expected to be completed in 2025 and an expansion of the mount coffee hydro power plant by two additional turbines.
Whilst there are plans on the way for more investment in green energy, our short-term plan is to increase our thermal capacity, which normally comes in during the dry season, to boost the generation from Mount Coffee.
The LEC management is confident that the country is getting closer to its national goal of increasing access to electricity for all Liberians. With the growing electricity demand, the LEC management is encouraging all its customers currently connected to the national grid, to use electricity efficiently and avoid wasteful consumption.
The LEC delegation was led by Mr. Thomas Z. Gonkerwon, the Interim Managing Director, and included Cllr. Emmanuel A. Tulay, Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Adam Sheriff, Head, Finance, Cllr. Malayan Keita-Brown, Head, Legal Services and Mrs Verity Neufville-Sonkarlay, Manager, Communications, Mr. Tomah Seh Floyd, Sr., CEO, Jungle Energy Power and MrMaissa Diagne, CEO Albedo/Libenergy.
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