Two major sources of electricity supply to Freetown are currently facing technical challenges. The CLSG line to Freetown appears to be faulty. The Bumbuna hydroelectric power station is currently undergoing annual routine maintenance. Under normal circumstances, CLSG supplies 27 Megawatts of electricity to Bo, Kenema, Kono and Octea Mining Company in Kono. Bumbuna, on the other hand, under normal circumstances (especially between July and November) supplies 50 Megawatts of electricity to Makeni, Magburaka and Freetown. Karpowership supplies a contractual 65 Megawatts of electricity to Freetown alone.
In 2018, the national grid capacity was 45 Megawatts. Now, it has increased to 80 Megawatts. Freetown now requires at least 120 Megawatts of reliable electricity supply because of the expansion of the city. Currently, Freetown depends largely on Karpowership for the supply of electricity. It is only Karpowership that is currently supplying 65 Megawatts of electricity on a daily basis.
EDSA sources informed the Global Times yesterday that by Monday, 15th May, 2023 electricity supply to Freetown would have stabilized especially with the completion of maintenance work at Bumbuna and CLSG. โWe intend to resume regular supply of electricity to Freetown by the weekendโ, a source at EDSA told the Global Times last night. He continued, โCurrently, we rely on Karpowership to supply reliable electricity to Freetown with an estimated capacity of 65 MegawattsโฆWe are grateful to Karpowership for rescuing us at a difficult moment like thisโฆWe are confident that, by Monday, electricity supply to Freetown would have stabilizedโ.
On the appointment of a non-Engineer as Director General of EDSA, a senior official in the Ministry of Energy said, โEDSA does not need an Engineer as Director GeneralโฆWhat EDSA needs is an experienced Manager with proven managerial skillsโฆThe current Director General, Abu Kamara, was appointed in July 2022 because of his proven managerial skills and background especially at the PPP (Private Public Partnership) Unit in the Office of the Vice President where he served as Director.
