Liberia's Minister of Mines and Energy, Wilmot Paye, has called for urgent regional and international collaboration to tackle Africa's energy crisis, as he outlined Liberia's ambitious plan to expand access, cut costs, and drive industrialization through sustainable power.
Delivering a keynote address at the 21st African Power Utilities Association (APUA) Congress in Cairo, Egypt, Minister Paye described Liberia's energy sector as being at a critical turning point. Speaking on the theme "Building Africa's Energy Architecture for Long-Term Prosperity - Catalyzing Industrialization and Urbanization via Sustainable Energy," he emphasized that affordable, reliable energy is central to the country's inclusive development agenda.
"Liberia's energy situation remains dire," Minister Paye admitted. "Our hydro generation capacity is about 88 megawatts, but it drops to zero during the dry season. This means six months of waiting for the rains before power supplies can stabilize in Monrovia and other areas connected to the grid."
He explained that while Liberia's thermal plant has a capacity of 38 megawatts, the cost of production is "prohibitively high" at 33 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to 14 cents in 2022. Prices also vary across regions, reaching as high as 45 cents per kilowatt-hour in one part of the country, while the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) charges 22 cents per kilowatt-hour, with a social tariff of 15 cents.
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Under the government's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), Liberia has set a target of expanding electricity access from the current 33 percent to 75 percent by 2030. According to Minister Paye, this ambitious goal will be achieved through a combination of grid and off-grid solutions. "While our national access goal of 75 percent is ambitious, it is achievable," he said. "This optimism is rooted in our strong political will and leadership commitment. A Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit will be functional by January 2026 to track and ensure progress."
Currently, Liberia imports about 80 megawatts of electricity from neighboring Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea through the Transco CLSG transmission lines. Although five substations have been built and fully energized, the Minister noted that there are still challenges with power evacuation.
Minister Paye explained Liberia's Five-Pillar National Energy Compact, which is designed to connect 100,000 households each year up to 2030. The compact focuses on rehabilitating and expanding generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure; leveraging regional integration through the CLSG network; embracing distributed renewable energy and clean cooking solutions; incentivizing private sector participation with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) under a steering committee chaired by the Vice President; and ensuring financially viable utilities that prioritize energy security while providing affordable, reliable, inclusive, sustainable, and clean energy.
He further revealed that major reforms are being introduced to strengthen governance in the energy sector. "In 2024, we decided to transition 86.3 percent of all government institutions from postpaid to prepaid metering," Paye said. "This will address the long-standing problem of unpaid electricity bills by ministries and agencies. By the end of 2026, about 145 of 168 government institutions will be on prepaid."
To complement this, a new Net Metering Policy is being developed to allow private solar owners to share excess energy with the national grid in exchange for credits. Minister Paye also announced the creation of an Energy Sector Working Group and an Energy Information System (EIS) that will provide real-time data on Liberia's energy balance, including hydro, oil, biofuels, solar, and geothermal resources.
Among the projects already underway is a 20-megawatt solar power park that will be commissioned this year, along with an expansion of the Mt. Coffee Hydro facility. But the Minister cautioned that these projects are still not enough to meet national demand, which currently stands at 400 megawatts.
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"We are targeting at least 300,000 new customer connections through the Liberia Electricity Corporation," he stressed. "The investment climate has changed, and with private-sector participation encouraged, this goal is not out of reach."
Minister Paye closed his address with a call for greater African collaboration in building sustainable energy systems. "Energy is the backbone of prosperity. For Liberia, and for Africa as a whole, achieving universal access requires not only commitment but partnerships. Together, we can build an energy architecture that powers long-term growth."
The 21st APUA Congress, hosted in Cairo, brought together governments, multilateral organizations, private investors, and energy utilities to explore innovative solutions for Africa's energy future.
