18/01/2023
When you have time, go through this 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
***A REASON TO RETHINK 🙏🙏!
Liberia is one of the countries in West Africa that is endowed with potential energy generation in Hydropower, Biomass, and solar but has one of the lowest electricity (energy) access. A nation rich with an abundance of water resources (six major rivers) but lacking huge development in energy production in the above energy resources could minimize the unending energy demand of a country with a population of approximately 5.3 million people (Worldometer, United Nations data, January 16, 2023). Despite the potential of these energy resources, Liberia has not fully exploited its Energy sector. The hydropower energy resource has been underutilized, and the country is one of the lowest per capita energy consumption in the region. As of 2020, only 28% of the population has access to electricity (IRENA, 2020). This figure is expected to increase due to the Power Purchasing Agreement signed between the government of Liberia and CI Energy company of Ivory Coast as new consumers are being connected to the national grid. The remaining percentage of the population (72%) who are basically off the national grid surely depends on energy generation from different sources such as biomass (firewood), diesel fuel, kerosene, etc. Hydropower operations and maintenance in Liberia are underfunded increasing the risk of turbine or plant failure and possible consequences including performance losses, extended outages, higher rehabilitation costs, environmental consequences, and potential emergency situations such as the loss of life or property (Canale et al. 2017). The hydropower potential for Liberia is estimated to be approximately 4478 MW (reference period 1998 - 2014), which is the total of all rivers in the country (www.ecowrex.com). However, the potential varies between the rainy season and the dry season. Liberia has a rainy season between April and November. Yearly rainfall is around 510 cm (200 in) on the coast, and 200 cm (80 in) inland. The average relative humidity is about 82% in the coastal area during the rainy season and 78% to 50% in the dry season. The Mount Coffee hydropower plant, the country’s single largest power source has a generation capacity of 88 megawatts (four turbines each of 22 MW capacity) after post-war rehabilitation. Due to the seasonal effect exacerbated by climate change, inadequate financial support, and technical gap, it is difficult for the hydro to yield to its full capacity. As projections of the country’s population are estimated to increase to 6.5 million or more between 2035 – 2040, there is a need for investment in hydropower, biomass, and solar energy as means of producing sustainable energy and achieving the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions in mitigating climate change and meeting the Paris Agreement target of emission reduction below the 2% threshold. With the fast-growing population, access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy is critical to addressing environmental, economic, and social issues facing many Liberians.
SOME KEY BARRIERS TO THE ENERGY SECTOR OF LIBERIA
Weak and underdeveloped enabling environment
Lack of policy implementation
Lack of technological equipment and trained technician
Limited awareness (Education)
Limited financial resources
Corruption
Power theft
Lack of innovation and technology
The increasing prices of energy and fuel, imported from other countries.
The increasing gap between demand and supply of energy.
IS THE POWER PURCHASING AGREEMENT SIGNED IN OCTOBER 2022 FEASIBLE AT THIS TIME?
My opinion on this question is NO! Let’s understand some simple terms:
A power outage is a short- or long-term state of electric power loss in a given area or section of a power grid (techopedia.com)
An electrical grid is the electrical power system network comprised of the generating plant, the transmission lines, the substation, transformers, the distribution lines and the consumer (studentenergy.org)
Load Shedding simply means the demand for electricity exceeds the available supply or when there is not enough electricity available to meet the demand of all customers, and an electricity (public) utility will interrupt the energy supply to certain areas.
Load simply means a device that consumes electrical energy and converts that energy into another form.
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) simply means a long-term electricity supply agreement between two parties, usually between a power producer and a customer (an electricity consumer or trader). (Next Kraftwerke)
The CLSG Interconnector project is a 1,350 km transmission line that carries 225kv allowing power exports through the CLSG/Transco grid network from Côte d’Ivoire to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea (World Bank 2022)
On October 21, 2022, a PPA was entered into between CI Energies (Côte d'Ivoire Énergies, and the Liberia Electricity Cooperation (LEC), for the supply of 27 megawatts of electricity to Liberia. The power will be transmitted through the CLSG Transmission line. Power supply to Liberia commenced in December 2022. Within less than three months, the warning signs of the old age problem (Energy demand) are beginning to resurface if we do not observe where we came from and where we are heading. The mini thermal power plant on Bushrod Island is heavily powered by diesel fuel with a generation capacity of approximately 28 MW and according to the Liberia Electricity Cooperation, it can only generate 18.5 MW from the mount coffee hydropower plant depending on water inflow. LEC Promised to meet 50 MW generation during this dry season (Nov 2022 – April 2023) which is a gradual improvement from the recent past and is necessary to limit load shedding and power outages. With the national budget dependent on revenue generated, it is now time to look out for alternative sources of energy to avoid not meeting the payment plan and high electricity tariff in the near future. Climate change is exacerbating every day and the Mount Coffee hydropower plant will continue to be affected during the peak of the dry season also fuel and gasoline are political commodities for which prices will not always remain stable. An uninterrupted power supply is necessary for economic growth and mitigating energy demand. Investing in renewable energy sources will create energy sustainability and energy equity. This will be necessary for the long-term achievement of energy supply and demand. I will stop here for now and recommend to stakeholders the following:
Capacity building and knowledge sharing
Implementation of robust monitoring and evaluation
Education / Awareness for all
Decentralization of power distribution
Investment in renewable energy sources (biomass, solar and hydro)
Purchasing and using energy-efficient products
Implementation of public-private partnership
Creation / Implementation of Power theft act/law
