Sierra Leone

Area
72,300.00 km2
Population
6,000,000.00
GDP per capita
680.00 USD
Access to electricity
12.00 %
Access to Modern Energy for Cooking
1.00 %
Electricity Production
~ 179 GWh, 78 . 4 % from Renewables
Installed Capacity
~ 98 MW of which 58 . 5 MW Renewables (~59 % )

INTRODUCTION

Currently, the electricity sub-sector in Sierra Leone faces challenges with less than 13% access in 2013. The energy consumption in Sierra Leone is dominated by biomass, which accounts for over 80% of energy used. The largest source of biomass energy is wood fuel followed by charcoal. Imported petroleum products are the next largest source of power at approximately 13%. 

The demand for energy in Sierra Leone far exceeds supply and the sector faces the following challenges:

  • Dilapidated transmission and distribution system resulting in high technical losses, estimated at about 40% of units generated.
  • Generation capacity is insufficient. Only about 13% of the population has access to electricity from the national power grid.
  • High seasonal variability in hydroelectric power production
  • The recently unbundled National Power Authority is not financially and operationally sustainable.
  • There is currently no energy regulatory body in place.
  • - The governance structure of the entire energy sector needs to be overhauled and reformed
  • Efficiency and access are constrained by high technical losses on the transmission and distribution (T&D) network, 
  • Low voltage quality due to an overburdening of infrastructure by illicit users.

The level of energy consumption in the country has grown substantially between 2006 and 2013 from 16,168 GWh to 47,112 GWh respectively (MoE, Tarawalli. P, 2014).

The vision of SE4All in Sierra Leone is to defeat poverty and preserve the environment by the year 2030 and is aligned with the Agenda for Prosperity (AfP) (2013-2018) and the country’s vision 2013 – 2035.

2010Short Term 2010 - 20152015 - 2020 Medium Term2020 - 2030 Long Term2030
Energy Access % (Access to Electricity)8.6194492
Energy Efficiency % (Electricity System Goal)52628591
Renewable Energy (Biomass, Hydro, solar) GWh15048 (86%)48180 (87.8%)59880 (84.5%)115380 (86.8%)

ENERGY ACCESS : 

Overview of the energy access targets and trajectories (2010 – 2030) in %: grid-connected, mini-grids and stand-alone system.

Energy Access Targets20102013*201620172018201920202030
Population served with Electricity (%)8.612.5242932374492
Grid-connected population (%)8.21018.522.252427.53055
Population connected to renewable energy powered mini-grids (%)0.31.7545671127
Population served with renewable energy powered Stand alone systems (%)0.10.751.51.7522.5310

RENEWABLE ENERGY : 

The country has come up with target for the SE4ALL initiative which will see the improvement of the energy situation in the country.Below is a table summarising the targets for the country for all renewables.

Renewable Energy ambitions20102013*2015202020252030
Total woodfuel supply (GWh)14,89221,97247,62856,43678,888105,060
Woodfuel supply for firewood (GWh) 13,872 20,364 40,4813,87220,36440,48845,15659,17273,536
Woodfuel supply for charcoal production (GWh)1,0201,6087,14011,28019,71631,524
Bio-fuel (GWh)0072168294372
Hydro power (GWh)1561503722,9764,6805,796
Solar (GWh)018108384480528
Wind (GWh)000121824
Total (GWh)15,04822,14048,18059,88884,360111,780

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 

Energy efficiency is expected to improve in the country as the government has made a  commitment to achieve these targets.

Energy Efficiency 2011Short-Term 2012 – 2015Medium-Term 2015 - 2020Long-Term 2020 – 2030
Energy Efficiency % (Electricity System Gains)52628591