Load shedding: Senelec expects a return to normal by the end of the week
Power cuts have made a comeback in recent days in Senegal. According to the general director of Senelec, Pape Toby Gaye, guest of the Rts, this situation is mainly explained by the combination of several technical incidents affecting important units of the production park, but also by constraints linked to fuel supply and cash flow.
“We think that by the end of the week, the situation can return to normal,” declared the CEO of Senelec, who evokes four factors at the origin of the current disruptions.
The first difficulty concerns Karpower, whose floating storage and regasification (FSU) device has experienced technical problems. This outage is currently depriving the network of around 200 MW of production capacity. “There are two hundred megawatts that we cannot use,” explains Pape Toby Gaye.
However, an intervention is underway to restore this capacity. “The broken pump arrived in Dakar. We will install it and do the tests and recover the 200 megawatts from Karpower,” he specifies.
The second difficulty affects the West African Energy power plant at Cap des Biches, where a turbine is also experiencing problems. This installation is intended to operate on gas, but until this resource is actually available, it operates on diesel. A situation which increases operating costs in an international context marked by the high cost of petroleum products.
Added to this constraint is a logistical difficulty. After its treatment at the SAR, the diesel is sent directly to the power plants, with delays which do not always allow sufficient settling to eliminate impurities. These conditions complicate the operation of the equipment and require maintenance operations.
The CEO of Senelec also mentions cash flow tensions, in a context where the cost of inputs is increasing even though demand for electricity remains particularly strong. “Inputs have become expensive. Demand is strong during this period,” he emphasizes.
The current situation is therefore the result of a jaws effect: temporarily unavailable production capacities, high fuel costs and sustained demand, which are putting further pressure on the balance of the electricity system.
Senelec is now banking on the rapid return to service of faulty equipment, particularly at Karpower and Cap des Biches, to strengthen the offer available on the network. The stated objective is to allow a significant improvement in the electricity supply by the end of the week.
Oumar FÉDIOR
