The Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (SLEWRC) on Friday 12th January 2024 held a meeting with the boards and managements of the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) and the Electricity Generation and Transmission Commission (EGTC) respectively.
The meeting took place at the SLEWRC’s 55 Berwick Street headquarters in Freetown.
The Chairman of the SLEWRC Board, Mr. Mohamed Sesay revealed that the meeting is a continuation of their regulatory role to supervise the institutions under their mandate, that they have received many complaints from consumers and the media about the poor electricity supply in the city and appealed to the boards and managements of EDSA and EGTC to address the issue.
Dr. Emmanuel Mannah, the Director-General of the SLEWRC disclosed that the meeting was highly represented due to its importance to the public. He recalled that December 2023 had been very challenging for EDSA to provide electricity for the benefit of the public, and he underlined that SLEWRC would ensure that EDSA provided quality service to consumers by reverting to provide 98% of electricity before the accident, warning that failure would result to management being reprimanded, and emphasizing that the institution could not be shut down due to its relevance.
Mr. Sidi Bakarr of EDSA expressed his observation that EDSA distributes electricity, but does not generate it, and therefore could only supply what it receives.
The Director-General of EDSA, Mr. Milton Kangbai attributed the recent frequent power outages in the city to damage to a transformer at the Kingtom Power Station on 23rd December 2023 for which they informed the public through the media. He reiterated that they only distribute electricity provided to them, and apologized to the public adding that when the incident happened power supply dropped by 30%, and that was why they worked assiduously to fix the problem within 48 hours instead of weeks.
He stated that the incident had been unforeseen and beyond their control, and that they had to secure transmission oil from neighboring Liberia to refill the transformer. He assured that the transformer oil now available could last for between 20-30 years, that EDSA has enough reserve of transformer oil in-country and that provision of electricity has returned to its normal capacity.
Mr. Milton Kangbai, assured they would do their best to minimize power outages and he enlightened that there are three players in the sector, that they have only one transmission line and recalled the 23rd December 2023 accident when hoodlums broke into the Kingtom Power Station but that the armed security guards worked hard to repel them.
He furthered that it was after the armed security guards had repelled the criminals that they discovered that the transformer had been damaged which resulted to massive oil spillage estimated at thousands of gallons causing them to close the valves and radiators.
The Director-General of EDSA went on to state that after they had bought the oil from Liberia, they tested it for 48 hours, and it proved satisfactory. He assured participants at the meeting that they had beefed up security at the Kingtom Power Station, that their only source of electricity is the seasonal Bumbuna Hydro-Electric Dam that provides 50 megawatts of electricity and informed that the turbine of the dam would be closed by 15th January this year for routine maintenance.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy revealed that they supervise EDSA and EGTC.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, appealed for such meetings to be held regularly, and observed that the Country failed to address the problem of electricity years ago, that the unbundling of the electricity sector was not necessary, and that EGTC owes EDSA millions of Leones. He called for the review of regulations governing the sector and their enforcement and affirmed that although it is capital intensive, the sector has excelled as electricity generation has increased from 16-30 megawatts.
He went on to state that the Country does not have the resources to invest in the sector, noting that the current output is the best in electricity generation the country has had since independence. Citing the seven districts headquarter towns electrification project, which is funded with local resources, stressed the need to always inform stakeholders about developments in the sector, and called on all to count on parliament for support.
Other topical issues highlighted by stakeholders included vandalization of transformers and other equipment that is a big challenge as the cost of one transformer is $74 thousand dollars, that a lot of work is ongoing to migrate poles and cables from the old to the new network and that there is need to protect EDSA assets as it has limited resources to replace them.
Other stakeholders pointed out the frequent fire accidents in Kono District due to the overloaded network and increased power supply as well as the proper identification of EDSA staff.
The Director-General of the EDSA, Mr. Joe Lahai stressed the need for a deadline for the investigation of the incident at the Kingtom Power Station on the 23rd of December 2023 and underscored that revenue generation had increased to pay even Independent Power Providers.
The vote of thanks was rendered by the Legal Affairs and Compliance Officer at SLEWRC.