Gabon: towards the end of the load shedding thanks to an agreement with Karpowership

On Saturday, February 15, the Gabonese authorities signed an electricity supply agreement with the Turkish company Karpowership. The latter has set up, since last May, Deux-Usines in Libreville Bateaux.

The first contract with Karpowership had been suspended by Libreville, deemed too expensive, but after revision, a new agreement was concluded. Since then, the Turkish company has started producing 70 megawattheures (MWH) of additional electricity to meet demand.

Three Gabonese ministers, including the Minister of Energy, Séraphin Akure Davin, interrupted their weekend to sign this agreement, which he considers an emergency solution to relieve the population. “For almost fifteen years, we have not maintained our infrastructure or renewed our energy park. The agreement we sign today is a response to the emergency ”he said.

Karpowership user boats will mainly use heavy fuel or diesel, expensive and polluting fuels, to produce electricity. “We are ready to use gas, but I assure you that we must first focus on the success of the current solution. We must delight this answer which is ready to meet the expectations of the population. We are starting to gradually solve load shedding problems and hope to find a final solution in the near future, in order to improve the situation in Libreville ”said Ali Hjaiej, director of operations at Karpowership.

For the moment, no increase in prices for consumers is envisaged. The government ensures that it continues to invest to get out of this emergency situation quickly. However, questions remain on the reliability of the energy produced by Turkish boats.