As a follow-up to the press release about a fire incident at our RIA substation on December 20, 2023, the Management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation wishes to update the general public, especially customers and residents along the Schiefflin-Marshal-RIA corridor, about steps the Corporation is taking to restore electricity to affected communities.
It would be recalled that LEC and its contractors worked hard to overcome several challenges posed by the road construction to energize the Schiefflin and RIA substations, together with their transmission lines from Paynesville, on 14th and 17th December. Unfortunately, after a few days of monitoring and while the substation was still under the contractor's responsibility, a fire erupted and affected some of the equipment at the RIA substation. The contractor has committed to replacing the affected equipment with brand-new ones. However, the procurement of the equipment, its shipment to Monrovia, and the subsequent installation and commissioning will require a significant amount of time. In the interim, LEC and the contractor are working to implement temporary measures to restore electricity to the airport and its environs.
Due to the unexpected incident at the RIA substation, and considering the similarity of equipment at the Schiefflin substation to that at the RIA substation, the contractor and LEC have assessed the risk and mutually decided to temporarily shut down the Schiefflin substation. This will remain in effect until the equipment manufacturer conducts additional quality tests. This decision is purely a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring that the incident at the RIA substation is not repeated at Schiefflin, which will delay reliable electricity supply to the Rahab, Duazon, Marshall, and adjoining communities for a protracted period. We are pleased to inform our valued customers that Siemens, the equipment manufacturer, has dispatched an experienced engineer to conduct the necessary tests and verify the equipment for re-energization.
LEC wishes to assure the public that electricity supply will be restored to affected communities as soon as these additional quality assurance tests have been concluded.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process as we work tirelessly to ensure a reliable electricity supply to all our customers.
Signed:
The Management (LEC)