This article focuses on the Liberia Electricity Corporation’s preparedness to supply sustainable, uninterrupted electricity during the dry season.
By Patrick T. Nah, BSc., MSc, contributing writer
Liberia’s national utility, the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), in its post-war era, has faced numerous challenges in delivering on its mission to increase reliable access to affordable electricity for economic growth and improved quality of life. In short, the current management team at the LEC has initiated a concerted transformation, aiming at overcoming the chronic outages and load shedding during the dry season.
Historically, the country relied heavily on the 88 MW Mount Coffee Hydropower and 35MW Bushrod Thermal Plants for generating supplies. During the dry months (roughly December–April), when the St. Paul River flow decreases, Liberia faces a massive power shortage and frequent load shedding. In response, new management and stakeholders have accelerated infrastructure, technical, and policy reforms to remedy this situation. In early 2024, the then Interim Management Team initiated discussions with cross-border private power service providers to increase supplies as the technical and financial frameworks were being overhauled.
Liberia’s generating capacity has expanded sharply from 56MW in 2023 to over 75 MW by late 2025. Thanks to the Team for optimizing production at the hydro and refurbishing faulty thermal units at the Bushrod Plant. Aside from Mt. Coffee’s two new turbines under consideration (raising its capacity toward 150 MW), LEC is developing a 20 MW solar farm at the same site, expected to be commissioned in early 2026. Groundbreaking for the solar plant (financed under the World Bank’s RESPITE program) took place in October 2024. With support from the national government, promising the beginning of a strategic reform agenda to address the power shortage in the dry season through the integration of solar energy. A step in the right direction was being added. The solar project, worth $96 million with sponsorship from the World Bank, also covers expansion works at Mt. Coffee and feasibility studies for a new hydro on the St. Paul River. All these interventions, once completed, will lift Liberia’s total generating capacity to roughly 150 MW and boost reliability from 35% to 65% in two years.
Expanded Power Imports and Thermal Capacity
To sustain the supply, Liberia has also tapped into regional and independent power producers (IPPs). In late 2024, the Government and LEC negotiated a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Côte d’Ivoire’s utility CI Énergies for 50MW and (Guinea – Electricité de Guinee for an additional 30MW via the CLSG (Côte d’Ivoire–Liberia–Sierra Leone–Guinea) interconnector. This is a significant milestone that has helped stabilize our energy supply so far and allow the expansion of more customers to the grid. In support of this drive, the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) has since urged the LEC to expand imports, allowing the PPA supply up to 100MW. This will ensure that the management fully utilizes this contractual capacity, alongside its Bushrod thermal plant, to minimize outages and improve economic activities. To date, the Management Team has ensured the repair of all of its heavy-fuel-oil (HFO) thermal generators, bringing them to full availability for the dry season. Together, these measures have largely averted the catastrophic blackouts seen in earlier years, increasing the steady performance of the network.
Transmission and Distribution Upgrades
Beyond generation, LEC and partners have upgraded the grid’s transmission and distribution capacity. CLSG project itself is building high-voltage substations and over 500 km of new 225 kV line through Liberia. Domestically, World Bank– and AfDB–backed projects are installing 66 kV transmission and expanding 33/22 kV distribution networks to reduce technical losses. In recent months, the LEC has expanded coverage to new counties (Bong, Grand Bassa, Rivercess), reflecting a push to extend service nationwide. In furtherance, the LEC has commenced the connection of large consumers directly to the grid: notably our giant cement producer CEMENCO, who have switched its factory from diesel generators to LEC power. LEC has begun a massive grid expansion into Gap communities, intended to add tens of thousands of households to the grid. Today, the network has about 305,000,00 customers reaching Bentol City, Bensonville, Virginia, and VOA in Montserrado, and a number of communities in Grand Bassa, Rivercess, Bomi, Cape Mount, and Grand Gedeh, with plans of installing an additional 300,000 new smart meters over the next three years.
Governance and Management Reforms
Under its new leadership, the Team has overhauled its corporate governance and technical structures to reflect a more technical and professional institution. All positions previously held before 2024 have now reverted to the LEC Act 1973 and the Electricity Law of 2015. A robust anti-theft campaign has been a priority with the LEC establishing an Anti-Power-Theft Task Force (joint with the national police) that has identified and regularized tens of thousands of illegal connections. These efforts paid dividends for non-technical losses (mainly theft) fell dramatically – from over 60% in 2021 to roughly 30% by 2025. LEC’s leadership also launched an “Agile Metering & Fault Resolution” program, dispatching mobile teams to quickly install meters and respond to customer concerns, aiming to boost customer satisfaction.
Economic and Policy Context
Technically and economically, Liberia still faces challenges. Peak demand is growing rapidly (projected to be ~388 MW by 2030), far above current capacity, so investments must keep pace with demand. Tariffs remain high by regional standards, though they have fallen (e.g., from ~$0.24/kWh to $0.22/kWh in real terms by 2025). Much of the financing for recent projects has been public: some $300 million has been invested in power infrastructure (World Bank, AfDB, EU grants, etc.), and new projects – like Mt. Coffee extension and solar plants – are largely funded by donors. LEC must still recover costs to cover import payments and fuel. Here, regulators play a role: LERC has repeatedly urged a strict reduction of losses so LEC can meet its PPA payments and obligations. The new Administration’s “ARREST Agenda” and “Mission 300” energy compact set ambitious targets – raising national access from ~37% to 75% by 2030, which will require both continued infrastructure build-out and sound utility management.
Finally, Liberia’s utility has moved from crisis to cautious optimism with a desire of increasing generation, expand coverage, and increase reliability. Strategic generation investments (rehabilitated hydro, new solar, fully available thermal, and regional imports) – combined with governance reforms and regulatory oversight – have greatly bolstered dry-season supply prospects. Key projects are funded and currently underway, and LEC’s new leadership has demonstrated agility in cutting losses and expanding services. With still much to do, the Management’s preparedness, sustained political commitment, and continued donor backing, Liberia’s electricity supply is now in much stronger shape for the dry season than at any point in the past decade.
About the author
Patrick T. Nah, BSc., MSc, is a lecturer at Water Resources & Hydropower
Department of Earth Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Liberia
He can be reached at (+231)0770-889-303.
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