By Kemo Cham
The World Bank and the Sierra Leone government have begun discussion on a path to a sustainable energy solution for the country.
A two-day Energy Roundtable, bringing together representatives of key institutions in the sector and development partners ended on Tuesday, where participants discussed and assessed the critical issues and challenges facing the sector with a view of agreeing on priority areas for intervention.
Sierra Leone currently has one of the lowest rates of electricity access in the world at 16 percent, which is said to be well below the average in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 30 percent.
Most of what amount of electricity is currently generated by the country [about 90 percent] is consumed in the urban parts of Freetown, according to figures from the Bank, which says that only 30 percent of district headquarter towns are partially supplied.
“The country’s infrastructure deficit—in energy in particular—affects household welfare and severely impedes competitiveness, job creation and poverty reduction, while firms cite inadequate electricity provision as a major source of increased costs, disrupted production, and reduced profitability,” the Bank said in a statement shared with Politico on Monday, the first day of the meeting.
Lack of funding has been a major limiting factor in the development of Sierra Leone’s energy sector, which has limited its capacity in terms of generation, transmission and distribution. This situation has been exacerbated by low collection rate from consumers and high prices of imported fuel, as well as the depreciation of the local currency, Leone. These are all issues that featured in the meeting held at the Atlantic Hotel in Lumley.
“Every aspect of life in Sierra Leone — private and commercial — is affected by the known challenges facing the energy sector. The needs are too great for public financing alone. What is needed is a sustainable and credible least cost expansion plan that can leverage private and development financing in a complementary and systematic manner.
Gayle H. Martin, World Bank Country Manager for Sierra Leone,
said in a statement ahead of commencement of the meeting.
“Bringing all the key players in the energy sector together is critical to kickstart a sustainable turnaround of the sector,” she added.
The goal is to get more private sector involvement in the sector. But the Bank says attracting private sector investment will depend on the ability of the distribution company [Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA)] as a credible off-taker for the power that is generated.
The forum discussed ideas on how the energy sector can be supported to achieve financial sustainability through improvement of the management of the EDSA, reduction of aggregated technical and commercial losses, implementation of least cost generation plan, and expansion of electricity access through both grid extension and off-grid solutions.
“In addition to improving cost-recovery itself, improved transparency and accountability regarding cost-recovery data is critical to facilitating private solutions. Regular publication of utilities’ annual financial statements, as well as their key operational and financial performance metrics, can go a long way in building trust and increasing the accountability of power utilities,” the statement reads.
The World Bank Group has been a partner in Sierra Leone’s power sector and continues to support the government’s agenda to reform the electricity sector to improve operational and commercial efficiency.
The Bank’s energy portfolio includes projects amounting to US$150 million, including a recent additional financing of US$50 million, which was approved in May 2019.
The World Bank said going forward and complementing the efforts of the African Development Bank and other development partners, it is exploring renewable options to support the Government’s efforts to provide electricity access to district capitals and other areas outside Freetown.
© 2019 Politico Online
