GENERAL  

In the execution of its mandate to provide adequate and reliable electric power to the nation at economically reasonable tariff, the Liberia Electricity Corporation  (LEC) operates and maintains two (2) distinct electrical power system, namely: the Monrovia Power system and the rural Electrification system. The Monrovia power system before the war supplied electricity to Monrovia and its outlying areas, extending to Kakata City , Tubmanburg City, and Buchanan City . Rural electrification  before the war operated eleven (11) isolated diesel out stations with three under construction at the onset of the civil war, served the people who resided out side the Monrovia power system.

 

THE EVOLUTION OF  LEC  

In the early 1940s, the Monrovia Power system consisting of a single unit, serving the public. The unit was located at the corner of Carey & Lynch streets and was operated by Henry F. Luke, after whom the Luke Power plant at Bushrod Island is named. Monthly collection then never exceeded 16% of the monthly billing.  

In the year 1949, the Government of Liberia (GOL) procured three 40-kW superior diesel generators through the United States Government Land Lease Program, and installed them at the Krutown power plant where the LEC central office is located today.

The Liberian company led by Commander William R. Trimble under contract with the GOL, replaced the Liberia Company and operated the Krutown power plant until 1960.  

In June 1960, the Monrovia Power Authority (PUA) was created by law to consolidate and control the activities associated with power generation, transmission and distribution with the view to reducing system technical and commercial losses. The Stanley Engineering Company was hired by the GOL to manage the MPA. However, in 1964 Sanderson and Porter replaced Stanley engineering company. The GOL at the time preferred Stanley engineering company to carrying out the task of surveying, designing and supervising the Mount Coffee Hydroelectric project.   

In 1962, the national Legislature pass an act to amend the one that created the MPA, thereby creating the Public utility Authority (PUA). The act creating the PUA transferred to the PUA, the Division of water and sewer from the Department of Public works, Telecommunication and Broad casting. The Government of Liberia (GOL) secured a loan in 1963 an IDA World Bank loan of US$ 24.3million to construct a 34 MW hydroelectric station on the St. Paul River .  

Raymond concrete pile Company, Orby Construction Company and the Schulman-Mass Gen J.V. Began in 1964, respectively, the construction of hydro station associated transmission facilities and substation. Upon completion in 1967, the hydropower plant was dedicated as the T. J. R. Faulkner W.F. Walker Hydroelectric Power Station which is situated in Harrisburg .  

On July 12, 1973, by an act of National legislature, the Liberia Electricity Corporation was formerly established with the mandate to plan generate transmit and distribute electric energy throughout the length and breadth of the Republic of Liberia . The LEC came into official business on October 11, 1976, following the printing of the act into handbill by GOL.  

THE MONROVIA POWER SYSTEM 

The LEC pre-war power system consisted of hydro and thermal generating facilities with a combined installed capacity of 182MW. The Mount Coffee Hydro Power Plant accounted for 64MW and thermal power plant consisted of Gas Turbines Plants. The slow speed diesel (Luke Power Plant) and the medium speed diesel (Bushrod Plant) contributed 68MW, 40MW, and 10MW respectively. The average annual energy production of these plants stood at 435GWh in 1989  

The transmission and distribution facilities consisted of ten (10) manned and six unmanned substation with a combined install transformer capacity of 260MVA. The transformer network consisted of double and single circuit 69-kV lines that spanned about 460km strung on a wooden pole, lattice steel tower and tubular steel poles

and extended 45km northeast of Kakata   city, 29km northwest of Tubmanburg and 121km northwest to the city of Buchanan while the distribution network consisted of approximately 800km of 12.5 kV overhead and underground circuits. All of these facilities were virtually damaged during and after the civil war.  

With all of the LEC facilities damaged as a results of war, it became appropriate to effect the long awaited power system change, over which the years left Liberia as the only Country in Africa that operated power system base on North America standard of 60htz  , 220/110v customer voltage.  

In 1998, with funding with from the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA), a Danish Consulting firm NESA Team, carried out a power system conversion study. Today, Liberia has effectively converted its system from the North America standard to 50HTz 400/230V customer voltage.  

In 2000,  a Taiwanese grant of 2.4M, was given to install a7MW of power in Bushrod yard. This 7MW of power was taken out of service in 2004, due to mechanical/electrical problems and lack of spare parts.  

 

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION  

The Government of Liberia owned the Rural Electrification System. The development of rural electrification dates as far back as 1945, when four individual power stations with  a total installed capacity of 800kW were constructed in Robertsports, Grand Cape Mount County; Buchanan, Grand Bassa County; Greenville Sinoe County and Harper Maryland County.  

In 1966, another station was built in Saniquille, Nimba County and in 1968, becoming the first outstation.  

The rural electrification program formerly established in 1978, when the Government of Liberia (GOL) obtained a loan to purchase and install 15 Mirrlees Blackstone diesel generators set with a total installed capacity of 13MW. These generator facilities along with the associated distribution networks and customers service connection were destroyed during the civil war.  

Eleven (11) outstations were established before the war, while another three were under construction at the onset of the war. The rural electrification system had before the war 90 miles of 12,5kV three phase and 7.2 kV single phase distribution lines and 26 miles of low voltage service lines, about 570 distribution transformers and more that 1700 wooden pole. At the outbreak of the civil war, the total number of customers connection as grown up to about 9,000 of which the Gbarnga outstation was by far the largest with 2,500. The rural Electrification System served the people in 11 population centers in rural Liberia .  

The rural electrification system was not completely successful due to a number of factors including high maintenance cost, low tariffs, consumers failure to pay , inadequate  and delayed subsidies from GOL as well as endemic overstaffing.   

Although the commercial profitability was minimum, the socio-economic benefits to rural dwellers were enormous, which in any case the significant justification for rural electrification.

LEC PRESENT STATUS  

Since Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson   Sirleafe’s   as President of the Republic of Liberia , during the October 2005 General and Presidential elections, and in fulfillment of campaign promise to provide electricity to parts of Monrovia , and its environs, the pace was set for the Emergency Power Program (EPP) for Monrovia  

Accordingly, on March 31, 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed and entered into by the European Commission (EC) in Liberia , the Government of the United States of America , through USAID, the government of Ghana through the Volta River Authority (VRA) and Government of the Republic of Liberia , for the implementation of the Emergency power program for Monrovia .  

GENERATION  

The Emergency Power Program EPP  basically involved the installation of two 1250kVA diesel generators and two 400KVA diesel generators in both Congo Town , Kru Town . To date only two (2) of the diesel power generators (1250kVA gensets) have been installed and commissioned on July 26, and September 15, 2006 in Congo Town and Kru Town , respectively. The total combined install capacity of the two units is 2, 5000kVA.  

The Congo Town and Kru Town power plant operated for 159 and 107 days respectively in 2006.  

ENERGY PRODUCTION CHART  

Congo Town Power Plant  

NO	Month	Energy Produced (kWh)
1	July	31,326
2	August	146,283
3	September	177,085
4	October	206,005
5	November	254,854
6	December	283,095
	TOTAL	1,098,648

   

ENERGY PRODUCTION CHART  

Kru Town Power plant  

NO	Month	Energy Produced (kWh)
1	July	0
2	August	0
3	September	24,041
4	October	196,555
5	November	329, 170
6	December	397,230
	TOTAL	946,996

 The combined gross energy produced by both Congo Town and Kru Town Power Plants under the EPP-I for the period under review is 2, 045,644.  

The Emergency Power Program for Monrovia has had limited generating capacity. To supplement EPP-I, EPP –II has been envisaged to expand the project by installing two diesel generators in Paynesville to cover a total distance of 8km of low voltage for streetlights.  

Also four more diesel generators will be installed in Kru Town , with the transfer and installation of the present EC funded generators at Kru Town to Congo Town to increase the generation capacity within Congo Town Project zone.  

Furthermore, two diesel generators will be installed at Bushrod and to expand the MV/LV network

 

TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION  

The distribution network consisting of 12km of medium voltage (MV) and 18km of low voltage ( LV ) network have been constructed and commissioned; spanning parts of Congo Town / Sinkor and Central Monrovia/West Point under EPP-I with 430 streetlights installed.  

Under the European Commission grant aid, three transmissions substation were rehabilited in Kru Town , Capitol and Paynesville.  

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES  

The LEC depends on the energy it supply its customers and how efficiently the energy flows is monitor, billed and transformed into collected revenue.

Predicated upon these conditions, under EPP-I, the LEC Management in collaboration with the IRG/USAID has put into place a number of measures aimed at enhancing billing and collection efficiency as well as minimizing system loses. In this regards, a Metering Billing and Collection (MBC) system was put into place.  

In 2006, the total number of 340 customers of various categories, namely, schools, hospitals,, clinics, residential, businesses and Public facilities have been connected to the EPP-I grid.

 ENERGY SALE CHART 

Congo Town Power Plant  

NO	Month	Energy Billed (kWh)	Energy charged (USD)	Collection (USD)
1	July	O	O	O
2	August	112185	48,763.00	4,175.00
3	September	150,641	66,305.00	21,478.00
4	October	164,085	72,659.00	30,437.00
5	November	205,139	72,567.00	128,080.00
6	December	285700	97,138.00	49,976.00
	TOTAL	917,750	357,432.00	234,146.00

   

ENERGY SALE CHART 

Kru Town Power Plant  

NO	Month	Energy Billed (kWh)	Energy charged (USD)	Collection (USD)
1	July	0	0	0
2	August	0	0	0
3	September	14596	6,380.00	1,550.00
4	October	118,736	53,853.00	23,019.00
5	November	240,125	8,6780.00	76,923.00
6	December	348,276	118,414.00	87,498.00
	TOTAL	721,735	265,431.00	188,990.00

 The Combined total energy billed is 1,639,485kWh, amounting to a dollar value of USD$ 622,863.00, including GOL bills  

The combined total payment made by all customers’ amounts to US$ 423,136.00 representing 68% collection efficiency.  

PERSONNEL  

 The present workforce of the LEC stands at 83, employees. This was possible by Government’s US $500.000.00 provision which successfully facilitated the downsizing exercise here at the LEC  

During the period under review, there were four new appointments and two dismissals made in Management, while a total number of three employees lost their lives. We wish to express our heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family.