By Bill W. Cooper
The Liberia Electricity Regulatory Commission (LERC) has granted Energicity Liberia Corp a 25-year utility license to operate, through the distribution of solar energy in the country.
The move is however expected to bring much-needed investment and expertise to the country’s struggling energy sector which has long been plagued by unreliable power supply and high costs in rural Liberia especially Gbarpolu County.
Energicity Corp, the parent company of Energicity Liberia Corp, is an active mini grid developer and operator with 71 mini grids in operation providing off-grid solar power solutions to rural communities across Sierra Leone and Benin.
The company also has a proven track record of delivering reliable and affordable electricity to underserved areas, and its entry into the Liberian market is expected to have a transformative impact on the country’s energy landscape.
However, the granting of the license to Energicity Liberia comes at a crucial time for Liberia, as the country continues to grapple with the challenges of providing electricity to its population across Liberia.
According to the World Bank, only 12 percent of Liberia’s population has access to electricity, with the majority of the country’s power supply coming from expensive and unreliable diesel generators.
Presenting the certificate to the company, LERC Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Lawrence Sekajipo said the decision to issue the license to Energicity Liberia is in accordance with the 2015 Electricity Law of Liberia.
He said as a license holder, Energicity Liberia is authorized to ensure the generation, distribution and sale of electricity without discrimination to customers within Totokolleh, Henry Town, Farwanta, Gbana, Zuo and Yagaryah.
Others are Tarkpoima, Smith Camp and Wesua, all in Gbarpolu County, and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the license issued, as it takes effect July 17, 2024, up to and including July 16, 2049.
Receiving the license certificate, Energicity Liberia Corp Regional Director of Construction, Neema Kezilahabi said, “With this Large Composite Mini grid License, Energicity will add Energicity Liberia Corp also known as Starlight Energy, as our third operating subsidiary, launching operations in Liberia.”
“This license will enable us to add 10 sites in Gbarpol County to our portfolio, ranging in size from 26.88 kW in Totokolle to 750 KW for Bopolu City, the county capital. The total license will enable over 1 MW of initial solar development and approximately US$4 million in investment.
“We have already started building! We are planning to commission our first projects this year and complete all 10 sites in the first half of 2026, and we are particularly excited because with this license, we will be entering our third country, Liberia,” she noted.
According to her, more than that, this milestone represents connecting up to 40,000 Liberians to grid-scale electricity for the first time, as with electricity, families, businesses, and communities will have access to new opportunities in rural Liberia.
Those opportunities include lighting up schools so that children can learn after dark, powering healthcare facilities, internet access and creating job opportunities for the communities, ensuring that our projects benefit the local economy and provide skill development.
Others are enhancing food security by using productive use appliances such as cassava grater, rice mills, palm oil processing machines among others, as she asserted, “Yesterday, I talked to Mr. Akoi in Totokolleh, who is the football team manager.”
“He shared his dreams with electricity: cold shops, guest houses, and even a stadium for his winning Totokolleh Mighty Angels team, with electricity being central to that dream. And Akoi’s dreams are just one of the thousands of Liberian dreams we will help to realize with electricity.
“We did not get to this point of enabling Mr. Akoi’s dreams alone. First, we want to acknowledge our funding partners, the Beyond the Grid Foundation and Mirova Sunfunder. We appreciate the support of a number of other agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Rural Renewable Energy Agency,” she added.
