LEC Tests New Power Routes in Liberia’s Lofa, Grand Cape Mount

Liberia’s electricity expansion has reached the field, with the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) assessing areas in Lofa and Grand Cape Mount counties for possible connections to the national grid.

The two-day technical exercise covered communities around the Lofa Bridge and a mining hub in Grand Cape Mount County, where LEC examined facilities that could receive electricity if the network is extended.

The assessment involved hospitals, government facilities, businesses and other public and private institutions. LEC officials also met community leaders, traditional authorities and youth representatives during the exercise.

The work comes as Liberia’s national electricity access rate has risen to 39 per cent from 32 per cent, Deputy Information Minister for Press and Public Affairs Daniel Sanoe said on Tuesday, September 22.

Sanoe disclosed the figure at the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing in Monrovia, during a review of progress under the National Development Plan.

Testing where the grid can go

The assessment is intended to establish whether electricity lines can be extended into the selected areas and whether distribution networks can be developed there.

For the communities involved, the process goes beyond identifying places that need electricity. LEC is examining the facilities that could receive power and discussing possible arrangements with local representatives.

The exercise also gives the corporation technical information on the conditions along the routes being considered for grid expansion.

Lofa and Grand Cape Mount are part of a wider need for electricity access in Liberia, where many rural communities outside major population centres are still not connected to the national grid.

The government’s figures show that access has risen by seven percentage points, from 32 per cent to 39 per cent. They also show that a majority of the population still lacks electricity if the national figures are applied across the country.

The gap has consequences for communities that depend on electricity for economic activity, education, healthcare and other essential services.

Sanoe said LEC would continue work to extend electricity to more counties and communities under the government’s energy expansion programme.

The assessment in Lofa and Grand Cape Mount will help determine where such expansion is technically possible and how new distribution networks could serve the selected areas.

The reported rise in access has come alongside another stage of the electricity programme: finding practical routes to connect people who are still outside the national grid.