October 30, 2026 (Vanguard/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
As the country approaches another dry season, the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) is seeking private-sector investment to expand electricity generation, improve grid infrastructure and address a longstanding power deficit that has left households and businesses struggling with unreliable supply for decades.
LEC Managing Director Mohammed Sherif announced the corporation's ambition to increase installed electricity generation capacity to approximately 472 megawatts by 2029, a target that would represent a major expansion of the country's existing power infrastructure.
Speaking on Wednesday, October 28, at the Liberia International Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition (LIMEC 2026), held at the Farmington Hotel in Harbel, Sherif identified hydropower, utility-scale solar energy, battery storage, transmission infrastructure and electricity distribution as priority areas for private investment.
"Taken together, these interventions, apart from the SP2, are expected to be completed by 2029, raising our installed capacity from 146 MW today to approximately 472 MW power in the project pipeline," Sherif told conference participants.
His announcement comes at a critical time for the electricity sector. Although the country has made progress rebuilding generation infrastructure destroyed during its civil war, electricity supply remains vulnerable to seasonal changes in water levels, equipment failures, insufficient transmission capacity and a growing demand for power.
For many Liberians, the problem is most visible during the dry season, when reduced output from the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant forces LEC to depend more heavily on thermal generation and imported electricity. The resulting supply shortfalls have repeatedly triggered load shedding and prolonged outages.
The World Bank has identified seasonal hydropower fluctuations as a major source of the country's recurring electricity deficit, with shortages intensifying during the dry months when Mount Coffee's output falls substantially.
The significance of Sherif's announcement, therefore, extends beyond a proposed increase in installed capacity. It raises the prospect of a more diversified electricity system that could reduce dependence on rainfall, improve the availability of electricity and provide a more reliable foundation for economic growth.
But the central question remains whether the proposed projects can secure the financing, technical preparation and supporting infrastructure required to translate projected capacity into dependable electricity for consumers.
Private investment and the 472MW ambition
Sherif said LEC was seeking independent power producers and other private investors willing to finance and develop new generation facilities, particularly hydropower and large-scale solar projects.
Among the major initiatives he identified are a 42-megawatt expansion of the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant, an additional 10 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity at Mount Coffee, and a proposed second hydropower project on the St. Paul River, approximately 50 kilometers upstream of the existing facility.
The proposed St. Paul River project, commonly referred to as SP2, is intended to add another major source of electricity to Liberia's generation portfolio. Sherif said six preliminary baseline studies had been completed and that the technical feasibility study was under review by LEC's Project Implementation Unit.
"For SP2, six world-class early baseline studies have been completed. The technical feasibility study is under review by our LEC Project Implementation Unit," he said.
He also identified proposed solar developments in Buchanan and Yekepa, with a combined target of 200 megawatts, as opportunities for private-sector participation under public-private partnership arrangements.
The initiatives form part of a wider effort to attract capital into a sector that has historically depended heavily on government funding and support from international development partners.
According to the World Bank, Liberia's electricity sector has received substantial public investment, but expanded access and improved reliability will require additional private capital, stronger governance and improved financial sustainability at LEC.
Sherif did not disclose the estimated capital cost of the proposed generation projects; the amount of private financing being sought or the identities of investors expected to participate.
Those details will be critical in determining how quickly the program can advance from planning to construction and eventual electricity delivery.
Consequently, the practical value of the 472MW target will depend not only on how much capacity is built, but also on whether the facilities can operate consistently and whether the national grid can transmit and distribute their output.
The country's electricity challenges are not new. They predate the civil war and reflect decades of infrastructure constraints, limited investment, operational inefficiencies and an electricity system concentrated heavily around Monrovia.
Before the civil war began in 1989, Liberia had an installed electricity generation capacity of approximately 177 to 191 megawatts. Yet access was limited, with electricity service concentrated largely in the capital and a relatively small number of customers connected to the national system.
Mount Coffee was already central to the country's electricity supply, but its output fluctuated substantially with seasonal water levels. World Bank historical assessments recorded that the plant could generate approximately 63MW during the wet season but only about 5MW during the dry season in the prewar period. Blackouts and load shedding were already common.
The destruction of infrastructure during the 1989-2003 civil war devastated the sector. Mount Coffee was destroyed, transmission lines and distribution networks were damaged or looted, and LEC's operations effectively collapsed.
Rebuilding the system became one of the major postwar infrastructure priorities. Successive governments, supported by international development partners, invested in restoring generation capacity and gradually reconnecting customers.
The rehabilitation and reopening of Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant in 2016 marked a major milestone in that recovery. The facility has a nominal generation capacity of 88MW across four generating units, providing Liberia with a substantial renewable electricity source during periods of adequate water flow.
In 2014, the government installed generation capacity stood at approximately 22MW. According to the World Bank, that figure had increased to 126MW by 2024, reflecting the restoration of hydropower and the development of additional generation resources.
Yet the electricity regulator's 2024 annual report described the sector's performance as unsatisfactory, citing a significant generation deficit and continuing gaps in transmission and distribution.
In January 2025, LEC outlined the scale of the challenge in its dry-season preparedness statement. It reported that, during the preceding dry season, the CLSG regional transmission line supplied 25MW, Mount Coffee contributed 18MW and thermal generation provided 12MW, giving a total operational supply of 55MW.
For the following dry season, LEC said it was preparing for a higher supply level through increased thermal availability and additional electricity imports.
The Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) has also publicly criticized severe outages associated with falling water levels at Mount Coffee. In a statement addressing acute power outages, the regulator said the dry-season decline in hydropower output had worsened supply conditions and prompted extensive load shedding.
Load shedding is the deliberate interruption of electricity supply to selected areas when available generation cannot meet demand. It is intended to prevent a wider collapse of the electricity system, but its consequences for consumers can be severe.
Households may lose access to lighting, refrigeration, internet connectivity and other essential services. Businesses must adjust operating hours or pay for alternative power. Hospitals, schools, small manufacturers and service providers face additional pressure when outages occur without reliable notice.
For enterprises operating on tight margins, repeated outages can increase production costs, damage equipment, interrupt services and reduce competitiveness.
A central weakness in the electricity system is its dependence on hydropower whose output fluctuates with rainfall and river levels.
Solar power, battery storage, additional hydropower and regional electricity imports could help address different aspects of this problem, provided they are developed as complementary resources.
Solar generation could reduce pressure on other sources during daylight hours, while battery storage could retain some of that electricity for use when solar production declines.
Regional imports through the Côte d'Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea (CLSG) transmission network have already helped supplement domestic generation. However, imports depend on available supply, contractual arrangements, transmission capacity and the cost of purchased electricity.
The World Bank has identified solar expansion and private-sector investment as important components of Liberia's strategy to address seasonal supply deficits and increase electricity access.
The proposed additional 10MW of solar at Mount Coffee and the larger solar developments planned for Buchanan and Yekepa could contribute to this diversification if they reach financial close and are successfully connected to the grid.
The move to attract private capital reflects the reality that Liberia's electricity needs are greater than what government funding alone can readily support.
Large hydropower projects, utility-scale solar facilities and high-voltage transmission lines require substantial upfront investment, lengthy development processes and careful management of technical, environmental, commercial and political risks.
Private investors will want clarity on project ownership, power-purchase agreements, electricity tariffs, payment guarantees, regulatory approvals and the mechanisms available if a project encounters financial or political difficulties.
Sherif acknowledged the importance of these issues, pointing to the National Electricity Law of 2015 and the establishment of the Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission as part of the institutional framework for investment.
He also identified the potential role of the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency in providing financing support, guarantees and risk-mitigation instruments.
Sherif reported that electricity access rate had risen from 27 percent in 2023 to approximately 39 percent as of September 30, 2026. He also said residential tariffs had fallen from US0.52toUS0.22 per kilowatt-hour.
These figures, which reflect LEC's presentation at LIMEC 2026, suggest progress in expanding access and reducing the reported residential tariff.
Sherif further said installed generation capacity had increased from 22MW a little more than a decade ago to approximately 148MW, with nearly 70 percent of electricity generation coming from renewable sources, principally hydropower and solar.
However, the reported capacity figures require careful interpretation. LEC referred to both 146MW and approximately 148MW in its presentation, while historical reports and regulatory documents have used different figures for installed, operational and available capacity. These measures are not interchangeable.
Likewise, a national access rate does not necessarily measure the quality, affordability or continuity of service received by connected customers.
The government's challenge is therefore twofold: expand access to people who remain unconnected and improve the reliability of electricity for those already served.
Liberia's National Energy Compact under Mission 300 seeks to raise electricity access to 75 percent by 2030, connect approximately 100,000 people annually and mobilize public and private financing for generation and network expansion.
LEC's proposal to increase installed capacity to approximately 472MW by 2029 represents an ambitious response to a problem that has persisted through successive governments and generations of consumers.
For the new investment program to make a measurable difference, Liberia will need to ensure that proposed projects are financed, constructed on schedule, connected to a capable grid and operated sustainably.
COMTEX_1002090876/2029/2026-10-30T07:05:15
