Guinea-Conakry is set to address its energy crisis by importing 120 MW of electricity from Senegal which will be distributed to households in Conakry through an interconnected network, part of the Organization for the Development of the Gambia River Basin (OMVG) project.
The OMVG Project aims to facilitate energy exchanges in the MSGBC region, enhancing electricity access in The Gambia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal.
Its main components include the construction of the Sambangalou and Kaleta hydroelectric dams and a cross-border transmission line connecting the four countries.
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Initial trials, starting from the Linsan site near Conakry on April 24, enabled selected households to access electricity from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
This initiative follows a prolonged period of power outages exacerbated by an explosion at the central hydrocarbons depot in Kaloum in December 2023, damaging a thermal power plant on the island of Tombo.
Guinea-Conakry’s partnership with Senegal is expected to be three times more cost-effective than operating the Turkish thermal power ship previously used off the coast of Conakry, which cost $4 million per month and had a capacity of 115 MW.