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Prospects for the regional electricity supply industry and West African power trading took a huge leap forward when two major networks interconnected at Linsan in Guinea. Much work remains to be done after the 2 April link-up, but the OMVG-CLSG interconnection points to a more positive direction of travel for a West African Power Pool that is starting to excite market interest.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai is committed to reform but aged 79, and with a long if intermittent history in public life, Liberia’s new leader has much to prove.

Electricity sector reform is high among new Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s much-trailed ‘100 day deliverables’, but the challenges of delivering improved services remain enormous in an industry still impacted by years of mismanagement and graft. State utility LEC has improved its performance, funding for new interconnections offers hope of more imports and there are rumours that a powership could provide short-term supply, writes Marc Howard.

Robert Friedland’s High Power Exploration (HPX) plans to develop a rail line to take iron ore from its Nimba licence in south-eastern Guinea to a deep-water port at Didia in Liberia. It is the second major Mano River region iron ore rail announcement in recent months following the giant Simandou scheme, and promises to increase demand for electricity from Côte d’Ivoire’s hydroelectric plants.

Rivalry between the world’s two most powerful nations is driving a rush to build strategic export-focused railway infrastructure in Africa on a scale not seen since the height of the Cold War. Washington’s $500m commitment to the minerals export-focused Lobito Corridor has been countered by a $1bn Chinese proposal to rehabilitate the creaking Tazara line. The two megaprojects will have terminals close together in the Copperbelt, but geopolitical considerations are likely to prevent any interconnection, writes Marc Howard.

Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has requested expressions of interest (EoI) for a project supervising engineer consultancy for the Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Rural Electrification Project (CLSG-RE).

A Dubai-based company backed by a well-connected but relatively low-profile member of Dubai’s ruling Al-Maktoum family has been signing deals across Africa to generate carbon credits – generating some controversy in the process.

President George Weah has called for the rapid development of delayed schemes at Mount Coffee and other renewable projects, in a move that could ease chronic delays in permitting and financing. The Mount Coffee projects are supported by a new World Bank regional facility.

The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a new $311m fund for renewables in Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Troubled utility Liberia Electricity Corporation is expected to sign a much-anticipated import deal with Ivorian counterpart CI Energies on 21 October, following months of negotiations over outstanding payments. It comes as President George Weah has extended exempt status for equipment imports, while more HFO purchases are planned and work is planned to repair malfunctioning thermal and hydropower plants.

The three core Mano River Union countries are confronted by major decisions that will shape their future direction, from potential progress on major resources plays led by Guinea’s huge Simandou iron ore mining and infrastructure development and Liberia’s struggles with major investor Arcelor Mittal to Sierra Leone’s political crisis. All three have searching questions of governance and equity for their populations, writes Jon Marks with correspondents in Freetown, Conakry and Monrovia.

The West African Transco CLSG transmission network is working to build a second 243MW line, begin energy trade with indebted Liberia and integrate C&I customers and renewable energy sources into the sub-regional network that covers Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The management of Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has returned to national hands, following the end of the five-year Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC-Liberia) programme, which had been in charge of the state utility’s management since 2018.

Construction work on the Gee River mini-hydroelectric power project is expected to start by the end of 2022, according to project company Enco Engineering Consultants.

The government is expected pay debts owed by Liberia Electricity Corporation to Côte d’Ivoire, clearing the way for Liberia to start receiving power through the Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea (CLSG) transmission line. The move comes as Monrovia seeks a new approach to LEC’s management and funds to repair the Mount Coffee hydroelectric plant.