By Staff Writer
The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) has formally requested government approval and emergency financial support to import up to 70 megawatts of additional electricity from Senegal’s national utility, SENELEC, as The Gambia grapples with a worsening power deficit that has triggered widespread load shedding across the Greater Banjul Area, according to internal correspondence and a board resolution dated June 12, 2026.
The documents, which include a NAWEC board resolution, a formal request letter to the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, and an accompanying risk and financial briefing note, reveal the scale of the supply shortfall and the financial strain the emergency intervention would place on the state utility.
According to NAWEC’s letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, peak electricity demand in The Gambia currently stands at approximately 110 megawatts, while available generation capacity has fallen to roughly 67 megawatts—a shortfall that has forced sustained and intensified load shedding across the national grid.
The utility attributed the crisis primarily to reduced regional power imports. The NAWEC board resolution states that the country’s situation has been compounded by the loss of approximately 100 megawatts of generation capacity tied to the floating KarPowership facility that supplies the Senegalese grid, which has in turn reduced the volume of power SENELEC is able to export to The Gambia.
To address the shortfall, SENELEC has proposed a temporary emergency arrangement to supply up to 70 megawatts of power to The Gambia, dispatched for approximately six hours daily during peak demand periods—between 6 p.m. and midnight—over a period of up to 50 days. The arrangement would deliver an estimated 21 gigawatt-hours of energy in total.
The additional power would come from an extra turbine at the West African Energy combined-cycle plant in Cap des Biches, Rufisque, which would run on Light Fuel Oil, or diesel, rather than the natural gas contemplated under NAWEC’s existing power purchase agreement with SENELEC. The board resolution notes that the Cap des Biches facility is expected to transition to significantly cheaper natural gas once a fuel consignment arrives in Dakar, a process projected to take roughly 50 days.
The reliance on costlier diesel-based generation in the interim translates into a steep premium: the emergency power would be priced at 242.4 CFA francs per kilowatt-hour, compared with the tariff currently applied to NAWEC’s regular electricity imports.
The financial implications for NAWEC are substantial. According to figures included in the request letter, the emergency arrangement carries an estimated total cost of approximately GMD 661.8 million against estimated revenue of GMD 306.8 million, producing a projected net incremental loss of roughly GMD 354.9 million, or about GMD 7.10 million per day over the 50-day window.
A separate briefing note prepared for the NAWEC board paints an even starker picture when the emergency purchase is factored into the company’s full-year financial position. The note states that NAWEC plans to procure a total of 28.0 gigawatt-hours of emergency power to stabilize supply over 2026, an intervention that would push the utility’s previously approved budgeted loss for the year from GMD 375.035 million to an estimated GMD 848.291 million.
The briefing note’s financial impact summary breaks down the projection as follows:
| Item | GMD (‘000s) | USD (‘000s) |
|---|---|---|
| Approved Budgeted Loss for 2026 | -375,035 | -5,034.03 |
| Additional Revenue | +409,080 | +5,491.01 |
| Less: Additional Costs | -882,336 | -11,843.44 |
| Net Impact of Emergency Purchase | -473,256 | -6,352.43 |
| Final Estimated Loss | -848,291 | -11,386.46 |
The note states that NAWEC intends to sell the full volume of power procured and is engaging industrial customers on a differentiated tariff reflecting the higher emergency purchase cost, which it says would still remain more economical for those customers than self-generation. Officials also noted that technical and non-technical losses, forecast at approximately 18 percent annually in the 2026 budget, are expected to be minimized through improved loss-reduction measures and careful planning of the additional supply.
The briefing note further indicates that the World Bank is expected to provide support that, if secured, would help absorb the incremental costs of the emergency intervention and ease the financial burden on both NAWEC and the government.
NAWEC’s internal risk analysis underscores why the utility considers the intervention necessary despite its cost. Without the additional supply, the company warns of a supply deficit of up to 60 megawatts during peak periods, further weakening grid reliability.
The analysis also flags a water supply risk, noting that prolonged power outages are already disrupting water production and distribution systems that depend on continuous electricity, raising the prospect of broader water shortages affecting households, health facilities, and businesses.
Perhaps most striking is the document’s warning on social and national security risk. It states that sustained load shedding is fueling rising public frustration that “could escalate into civil unrest and broader national security concerns” if the situation is not stabilized promptly. The analysis adds that the rotational load shedding currently being applied at the substation and feeder level is also causing significant wear and tear on the utility’s transmission and distribution equipment.
NAWEC characterizes the financial exposure as a worst-case estimate, noting the facility will only be dispatched during peak hours and as needed, with actual usage likely to be lower depending on system conditions. The utility also points to two anticipated developments that could shorten its dependence on the costly arrangement: SENELEC is expected to restore its own generation capacity by around June 20, 2026, enabling increased exports to The Gambia, while Électricité de Guinée is projected to increase hydropower supply by early July 2026 as water levels improve with the onset of the rainy season.
The NAWEC Board of Directors, chaired by Dawda K. Jawara, formally resolved on June 12 to pursue the arrangement, citing the operational necessity of the intervention alongside its financial and legal implications. Acknowledging that the proposed deal exceeds NAWEC’s approved budget and could affect customer tariffs, the board invoked the Public Service Obligation provisions under Section 27 and the state support provisions under Section 77 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act, 2023, to formally seek government backing.
The resolution directs NAWEC’s Managing Director to immediately submit a formal request to the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, with copies to the State-Owned Enterprises Commission and the Office of the President, for onward transmission to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. Management has been authorized to proceed with executing an addendum to the existing power purchase agreement with SENELEC only once government approval is granted, and has been instructed to prepare for subsequent implementation matters, including invoicing, cost tracking, and the settlement of arrears with SENELEC and EDG.
The resolution was signed by Mr. Jawara as Board Chairperson and Fatou Darboe Esq. as Board Secretary, with the board emphasizing that, given the critical state of the national electricity supply, all actions under the resolution should be treated as urgent and implemented without delay.
In a forwarding letter to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Permanent Secretary Abdoulie Jallow of the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines echoed the urgency of the request, thanking the finance ministry for its “continued collaboration and valuable support to NAWEC, particularly in this critical period,” and urging due consideration, approval, and the provision of financial support to offset the projected losses.
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