Liberia: Senate Ask LEC, Regulator for Plan to End Load-Shedding

Plenary of the Liberian Senate has given the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) and the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) two weeks to submit a plan of action with specific timeline attached and to recommend ways and means to solve the numerous problems and challenges, especially financial liabilities as well as its inabilities to provide stable electricity in the Country. 

The Senate has also mandated that the LEC Team works with the Minister of Finance and Development Planning.

Plenary's action was predicated upon the appearances of LEC’s Board Chairman, Monie R. Captan and LERC Board Chairman, Lawrence Sekajipo.

The two invitees stressed the need for Liberia to invest in the regional generation phase in order to experience rapid growth in the Economy.

During a Senate hearing on Thursday, February 3, the LEC Board Chair Captan told the Senate that for 25 years the entire electricity infrastructure was damaged due to the civil crisis, which basically had to be rebuilt and upgraded, based on the contributions from development partners (European Union, African Development Bank).

Touching on the US$9.6 Million Debt owed by the Government of Liberia to the Ivorian Government, he disclosed that the lack of proper Mechanism to regulate the power pool at the three border points during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration led to the increase in said debt.

The LEC Board Chairman also asserted that the sector at the time had completed its infrastructure work at the three border points, but was not prepared for full operation. According to him, during a tour session of former President Sirleaf, a command was sent to turn the power on at those points, which has remained till today landing us in a huge debt.

Board Chair Captan further promised to commission a comprehensive audit of the US$9.6million owed by the Liberian Government for proper accountability.

He also blamed the refusal of some entities of government and officials to pay electricity bills.

For his part, the Chairman of the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission, Hon. Lawrence Sekajipo, recommended that the government of Liberia should embark on measures including: generation deficit, connecting to the CLSG Line from the Ivory Coast for a stable and reliable electricity, private sector investment, among others, as the surest ways to improve the Country’s energy sector.