The attention of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has been brought to numerous reports in the media claiming that power imported by LEC from La Cote d’Ivoire through the CLSG has been cut off. These reports are all false and misleading. LEC continues to receive power from La Cote d’Ivoire through the CLSG at the contracted capacity of 27MW. The contracted capacity is the amount of energy CI Energies agreed to supply LEC under the Power Purchase Agreement.
LEC has informed the public on several occasions that the contracted capacity from CI Energies will not meet LEC’s peak demand, which currently exceeds 70MW. Peak demands are periods when the highest energy consumption is experienced and in the case of Liberia, it lasts from 6am to 9am and 6pm to 11pm. During off-peak periods, LEC can meet the energy demand. To mitigate the gap created during the peak period, LEC generates additional power though its thermal and hydropower plants. The additional power generated by LEC is approximately 47MW, which provides a combined capacity with CLSG of 74MW. However, due to the exceedingly high cost of fuel, LEC has limited the use of its thermal plants to produce more cost reflective energy. The resultant gap, which is minimum, is mitigated through load shedding. In the coming rainy season, LEC will not need the full contracted capacity from CI Energies. LEC has already booked 50MW capacity for 2024 from CI Energies in anticipation of growth in demand, while at the same time deploying 35MW of solar energy.
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