Monrovia — One of the most damaging blows inflicted on Liberia's infrastructure during the wars which devastated the country in the 1990s was that to its electricity supply. AllAfrica's Boakai Fofana sat down recently with the Lands, Mines and Energy Minister, Dr Eugene H. Shannon for an update on the government's efforts to re-establish the supply. He learned that the country now needs about five times as much power as it did before the wars, which the government hopes to meet growing energy demand using a variety of sources, including biomass - burning the old rubber trees that are plentiful in the country. In the longer term, there are plan to rebuilding the dam that produced hydroelectric power before it was destroyed.
Let's talk a bit about the situation of the power grid. Where are we coming from and where are going?
When [President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf] took office, she promised her people infrastructural development, which is the key to any development. One of the most important things in infrastructural development is energy so she promised her people "small lights today - big lights tomorrow."
What does that mean? That means we engage our partners, since our banks were busted and we didn't have money. She [Sirleaf] thought to contact our multilateral partners for assistance, and they came in with small amount of assistance from Norway, from the U.S., the World Bank and other partners. We called that the EPP 1 - that's the Emergency Power Program One.
The initiation of the emergency power was to give small lights in depressed areas of the capital. That's because those were the people who could not afford to pay for an exorbitant power supply, but they needed light anyhow. As you know, the hospitals need light for operations and other services. So on her first anniversary [in office] she put on emergency light.
Since then, we went into Emergency Power Two (EPP 2) to enhance the lightning of Monrovia and other environs. We started with street lights. The purpose was to reduce crime. The lights are being extended to other parts of the city. We are looking to extending EPP 2 and, hopefully, begin to connect houses. We have already connected houses in Sinkor and other parts of Monrovia. We are connecting industries and houses.
What's the source of the energy?
Diesel generators around the city [Monrovia] We are transitioning from those, in the medium term, to the IPPs - the independent power producers. One [company] can come in and take Grand Bassa County, for instance. Another takes Sinoe [County]. Our people will hook on and pay. The interim solution will be IPPs. The emergency power, which was [supported by] grants, expires around the end of March of this year.
What about the plan to build a plant to burn the old rubber trees?
Buchanan Renewables is an IPP planning to burn rubber woods and transform them into electrical energy.They will use old rubber trees and then replant them. Their power plant is going to be installed in Kakata - 35 megawatts. The first phase will be 17.5 megawatts of energy and the second phase will be 17.5 megawatts. The transmission lines are going to run to Monrovia and all feed power along the corridor [from Kakata), especially major industries.
Do you worry about the environmental impact?
Yes, we do. No one can undertake this kind of project without worrying about the greenhouse gas emissions. It's a prerequisite that they must take into account environmental and social impact assessments. To be sustainable, one must consider the economic, environmental and social concerns
The long-term [energy solution] is hydro. The major hydro plant at St. Paul was bombed during the civil war. We are resuscitating that. We have done the feasibility study by the United States Trade and Development Agency. It's U.S. government money of about $500,000. They are going to begin with about 100 megawatts. With that we can take care of the whole country.
But we have enough power along the St. Paul to generate up to 1,000 megawatts and feed Sierra Leone. So that's the long term goal. Why is it the best way? It's because it's cheap. At about two to three cents a kilowatt hour, it's environmentally friendly and affordable. But during the dry season you have to mix with diesel power because the water level goes down.
How far away is "long term"?
The long term is three to five years. We are looking for a B.O.T. - build, operate and turn over - which is cheaper. We don't have to put in any money. So we are looking for a concessionaire.
How is the lack of power is stalling Liberia's growth?
The diesel method - using generators - is expensive. Many people cannot afford it. That's why you see charcoal trucks running through the city all the time. It's affecting growth in terms of building factories and businesses, etc. But that's just the short term. Every country goes through that. Now a lot of people use small generators called Tiger that runs one gallon for eight hours.
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What kind of investment deals in the energy sector are on the table now?
Well, the Chinese company China Union said in their investment package that they want to build a 135 megawatt plant for their operation and public consumption.
What's the potential need for power in Liberia?
Before the outbreak of the civil crisis, Liberia's need was 64 megawatts, but everything is expanding now and factories are opening. The demand today is different from the demand we saw 25 years ago.
The need [in Monrovia] today is about 100-200 megawatts. For the entire country, it's about 300-400 megawatts.
Besides that we have other interregional corporation by way of the West African Power Pool. We are going to be bringing power from the Ivory Coast through our borders, it's going to spread out to about 18 cities along that frontier. That line is going to run all the way down to Buchanan, then to Monrovia and then into Freetown. So it's going to be interregional. This will be done with the assistance of $200 million from the World Bank for the transmission line.
We also have the West African gas line. We are taking gas that is being flared in Nigeria and then piped in across West Africa and [will] transform that into electrical energy as well.
