The Board of Commissioners (BoC) of the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) has amended the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) electricity Import License. The amendment now permits the corporation to increase its electricity import capacity into the country from 10MW to 110MW.
In March 2023, LEC submitted an amendment application to the commission requesting an increase in its electricity import quota based upon what it described as “fast increasing demand that has consequently raised LEC’s average daily peak load to over 56MW in less than three months”.
In addition, LEC informed the commission that demand for electricity in Liberia is still increasing and more bulk customers are yet to be connected to the national grid. The management of LEC asserted that imported power demand in the next years shall continue to increase at a fast rate beyond what was anticipated in the agreement with the Ivory Coast-based company CIE.
Dr. Lawrence D. Sekajipo, Chairman of the BoC, speaking at the licensing ceremony at a local hotel in Monrovia on July 28, 2023 said the commission was pleased to grant LEC the exclusive right to purchase and import electricity into the country in the capacity of up to 110 MW.
“We hope this will assist LEC meet its national goal of 70% access to electricity for Liberians by the government’s projected date by 2023,” Chairman Sekajipo stated.
He continued, “To meet this target, LERC calls on the Ministry of Mines and Energy and LEC to implement the national distribution policy on electricity. He said the commission had put in place all regulations to ensure private sector investment in the electricity sector.”
Responding, the Executive Director for Engineering and Major Connections, Dele Shobayo, said the event marks a milestone in the improvement of the electricity sector of Liberia and allows LEC to increase its import quota to close the gap especially during the dry season due to the seasonality of its major source of electricity the Mount Coffee Hydro facility.
Engineer Shobayo added, “This gives LEC a huge window of opportunity to import electricity into the country from other countries in the subregion and meets the demands of large customers.’
He lauded the management of LERC for the level of collaboration and coordination between LERC and LEC.
Speaking earlier, the acting Managing Director of LERC, Abu Dekontee Sanso, said the ceremony formalized another rigorous process which started in March 2023 when the commission received an application from the LEC in keeping with the terms and conditions of the issued electricity import license to amend provisions that will allow the LEC to import electricity totaling 110MW.
Engineer Sanso said the commission was acting in accordance with the 2015 Electricity Law of Liberia, citing Section 3.3 Power and Duties of the regulator that the commission must “consider applications for licenses and may issue licenses for import and export of electricity.
“This yet again is a major milestone achievement toward sustainable and reliable electricity supply to end-users within the Liberia Interconnected Transmission System,” he asserted.
Earlier in March 2021, the commission issued six licenses to the LEC, including an electricity import license.