Dr. Ousman Gajigo
You may have heard quite a bit about the OMVG energy project recently. You may even have seen the major transmission lines built as part of it. You may also have heard the government making many claims about it – some of which are questionable. President Adama Barrow, for instance, once claimed that the OMVG project would solve the country’s electricity needs, which is quite a stretch.
The OMVG project has two main components: a transmission component and a generation component. The transmission component entails the construction of major transmission lines and substations across the OMVG member countries: The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea Conakry. These transmission lines would enhance energy integration among OMVG members and connect them to the larger West African Power Pool.
The second component is the planned hydropower generation to be sourced from the yet-to-be-completed Sambangalou Dam on the River Gambia, at the Senegal-Guinea Conakry border. This major dam is expected to have a generation capacity of approximately 128 megawatts (MW). Until it is completed, only the transmission and interconnection portions of the OMVG project can be considered operational.
The OMVG project is undoubtedly a positive development. Additional generation capacity and enhanced interconnection with neighboring countries should benefit our energy sector. Moreover, hydropower is less expensive than the fossil-fuel-based generation we currently rely upon.
But the devil is in the details. Despite its promise, the OMVG project does not eliminate the need for a well-thought-out and implementable national energy strategy. Without such a strategy, a country risks not only diminished benefits from a project like this but also missing out entirely. The OMVG project offers a clear illustration of this danger for The Gambia.
The completion of the transmission line component of the OMVG project has not improved our energy situation given the electricity crisis we are currently experiencing. Here is why. While the transmission lines made it easier for The Gambia to import electricity from neighboring countries, they equally made it easier for electricity exporters to sell to multiple buyers.
Within OMVG, Senegal is currently the major electricity exporter. When the project was designed, it was anticipated that the primary sources of power, which is the basis for energy trade among member countries, would be the Sambangalou, Souapiti, and Kaleta hydro dams. Both Souapiti and Kaleta, which have higher generation capacities than Sambangalou, have already been constructed by the Guinean government with Chinese support.
Unfortunately for a country like The Gambia, whose current leadership has pinned its hopes on electricity imports, Guinea Conakry still has an energy deficit. Despite both dams being operational and some electricity being exported, Guinea remains in deficit. In fact, in 2024, Guinea signed an agreement to import 124 MW from Senegal, more than double the quantity The Gambia has been importing from the same source.
This creates two serious problems for The Gambia. First, until the Sambangalou Dam is completed, we cannot rely on significant electricity imports from Guinea, as that country has its own deficit to contend with. Second, Guinea turns to Senegal to meet its shortfall, which is the same country The Gambia depends on for electricity imports. Compounding this, our national utility company, NAWEC, is not a reliable business partner, having accumulated months of arrears with Senelec.
I cannot say with certainty why Senegal has recently reduced its electricity exports to The Gambia, but the logical inference is not difficult to draw. Consider an exporter with multiple foreign clients: one is a larger buyer who pays on time; the other is smaller and consistently late in payment. Which client would you prioritize?
Our current energy crisis exposes a problem that has been apparent for some time: the country lacks a coherent, long-term energy plan. Electricity has been treated as little more than a short-term political campaign tool – by increasing connections in the run-up to an election. Given The Gambia’s circumstances, the appropriate strategy must prioritize domestic electricity generation. And that increased generation must be geared towards higher baseload to enable to grid to absorb greater renewable power in the future.
It is important to stress that even if the Sambangalou Dam is completed and comes online, it will not solve our electricity problem. Its projected 128 MW capacity must be shared among four countries, yet The Gambia alone requires more than 100 MW to meet current demand. There is no shortcut: building local electricity generation capacity is essential. The OMVG project, therefore, offers no salvation, particularly given the Barrow administration’s cynical mishandling of our energy sector.
It is equally worth noting that Senegal’s surplus electricity exports are unlikely to continue indefinitely. Senegal is experiencing industrial growth, which is energy-intensive, and will need to expand its own capacity to meet rising domestic demand – demand that will take precedence over foreign customers, including The Gambia. The same logic applies to Guinea. Although the country has significant hydropower potential, its mining sector, which largely relies on expensive diesel-powered generators, creates enormous domestic energy demand. Guinea will therefore prioritize local electricity needs over exports for the foreseeable future, particularly for its vital mining industry, which accounts for a significant share of its government’s revenue and exports. It is also worth noting that hydropower accounts for more than 70% of Guinea’s generation capacity, meaning electricity output fluctuates considerably throughout the year. For The Gambia to base a national energy strategy around imports from Senegal or Guinea is therefore ill-advised.
Rather than taking the obvious necessary steps, the Adama Barrow administration has spent nearly ten years making decisions that have worsened, rather than improved, the energy situation. Among these is the squandering of over $200 million paid to Karpowership for a temporary electricity supply – arguably one of the worst energy deals in the world. The government is now connecting more and more households to the electricity grid with no credible plan for increasing local generation capacity. There are few clearer signs of incompetence and economic malpractice than this.
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