Liberia: LEC Load Shedding ‘Policy’ Angers Paynesville Residents

When Moses Johnson, a resident of the G.S.A. Road Old Rockers Compound Community in Paynesville, learned that the General Service Agency's (GSA) boss, Mary Broh, had been appointed to head the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) power theft task force, he rushed to report himself that he was involved in the illegal act. 

Upon meeting the power theft team, Johnson paid a $50 fine and also obtained the new smart meter.

The elderly man, desire to operate legitimately and to enjoy a stable power supply at his provision shop and fully aware that Broh is a ‘no-nonsense woman’, had no option but to borrow money from his neighbor to pay his power theft fine. 

For him, the more stable the power is at his shop, the better the chances are to make a profit because he sells cold drinks. 

However, though Johnson may have legitimized his status with LEC and obtained a brand new smart meter in the process, things are not going as he had hoped.

This is because the power regulator has announced its load-shedding policy — used as a last resort to balance the demand and supply of electricity across the national electricity market.

The grid may become unstable if there is not enough power supply to meet the demand for electricity from all customers [at the same time], the LEC said in 2021 when it introduced the load shedding ‘policy’ for the second year.

The load-shedding measures, announced just two days ago, are taking a toll on businesses already. 

“The power hardly comes on time. My drinks and water don’t get cold anymore, and I am beginning to lose a lot of customers,” Johnson said. 

An anti-power theft task force was launched last year by the electricity provider to crack down on those illegally connecting to the grid. 

That exercise has led to a surge in “legitimate connections” as hundreds of residents saw the task force method as a better deal than the established anti-power theft law taking its course — jail time, a more hefty fine — and the wrath of Broh. 

So, having their statuses legitimized resulted in a sharp increase in energy consumption across the grid, which is now affecting the power supply, according to LEC.

According to LEC, the network peak load has increased from an average load of 55 MW to as high as 73.2 MW during the evening hours.

“Therefore, in order to meet the needs of all customers, it has become necessary to institute load shedding,” LEC said in the statement.

The peak hours for power consumption in Liberia are at night because many people are not at home during the day — a time most people are often out and about, involved in business and commercial activity. 

“LEC urges its customers to conserve energy and turn off appliances and lights when not in use, especially during the evening hours when consumption is exceedingly high. Energy conservation by consumers will reduce the energy demand and the level of load shedding. 

Load-shedding schedules will be managed hourly and daily in response to peaks in energy consumption,” the statement added. 

LEC contracted 27 MW from CI Energies of La Cote d'Ivoire to help compensate for its energy supply deficit, which represents the maximum allocation available to each CLSG country. 

The management stated in the press statement that it has exceeded its allocation from CI Energies due to the increase in energy demand.

 Consequently, CI Energies has informed the LEC that it cannot provide additional energy because of a limited energy supply. Furthermore, energy supplied by the Mt. Coffee hydropower plant has declined due to low water levels.

“In addition to the 27 MW supplied by CI Energies, LEC can generate up to 18.5 MW from Mt. Coffee, depending on water inflow, and has an additional installed thermal generation capacity of 28 MW. LEC will meet a demand of approximately 50 MW this dry season, compared to the 14 MW supplied during the last dry season. It is therefore expected that load shedding will be limited in scope and duration, lasting until the return of the rainy season in June 2023.”

LEC, however, gave customers the reassurance that an additional electricity supply is planned for the upcoming dry season to address the dry season energy deficit problem. 

Julius Saywon, whose energy consumption load involves a fan, freezer, television, and percolator, claimed the new smart meter is preferable to the ones that were provided by the World Bank.

“This will really affect us. LEC should always be able to find a solution to this power shortage,” he said.

However, Saywon and others, who were convinced that the coming of the new smart meters would also mean stability in the supply of electricity, are beginning to feel disappointed as LEC has announced its power-shedding policy. 

“We thought the main objective of providing a new meter was for us to have stable current to run our businesses. But look now — the current hardly come. “Our businesses are no longer functioning like before,” said Yatta Mulbah, who runs an entertainment center on DuPort Road. 

Meanwhile, the sudden surge in legal connections in Paynesville City comes just a few weeks after Liberia got connected to the Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea (CLSG) power grid, which intends to ensure a stable power supply for millions of Liberians. 

The CLSG project involves the construction of five 225 kV substations and approximately 530 km of 225 kV power lines running across five counties in Liberia, according to TRANSCO CLSG, the regional power interconnection facility owner and transmission service provider, based in La Côte d’Ivoire.

“La Côte d’Ivoire is not giving us free electricity,” said Monie R. Captan, LEC’s chief executive officer. “This PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) is a commercial agreement requiring Liberia to pay for the electricity it receives. Our goal is to work with communities to make this agreement sustainable and successful through legal connections and regular payment of electricity bills,” he stressed. 

The CLSG connection increased LEC’s power generation capacity by 27 megawatts. The power to be added on amounts to about 50% of what Mt. Coffee Hydro currently generates.

The standard meter fee is US$22, but in addition to paying for the meter, they must also pay a power theft fine of US$50 for households, US$70 for small businesses, and US$500 for large corporations. Additionally, they must purchase US$30 worth of current after the installation of the new meter.  The formation of the task force and the subsequent crackdown were necessitated by the high level of power theft in the country, with many illegally connecting to the national grid, robbing LEC of much-needed cash, and simultaneously depriving others of electricity.