This disclosure came during a session at the National Assembly when Hon. Omar Jammeh, a representative for the Janjanbureh Constituency, urged Energy Minister to shed light on the specifics of the energy agreement between NAWEC and SENELEC.
Hon. Jammeh sought details on the terms of the contract, the total amount involved, payments made, and the outstanding balances.
The Minister explained that the contract between NAWEC and SENELEC is structured as a “take and pay” agreement, meaning payment is only required for energy consumed, with a 30-day credit period.
“The bulk of the monthly purchase is the 50MW facility. At high voltage, the amount paid and outstanding balance depends on the energy received. However, as we speak, we owe three months invoices; May, June, and July 2024 amounting to over 10 billion CFA due to NAWEC’s current cash flow situation,” he revealed.
Minister Juwara highlighted The Gambia’s participation in the OMVG (Organisation for the Development of the Gambia River Basin) and the goal of regional cooperation in energy infrastructure. He also noted that The Gambia could potentially export energy to neighbouring countries in the future.
To support this vision, he mentioned the ongoing plans for a 150MW solar project in The Gambia to meet local energy demands and potentially supply excess energy to neighbouring countries.
“We are part of a regional body and if you look at our members in the OMVG, the objective is to put up infrastructures that countries can share and this is part of the agreement that we are also making with SENELEC, and the rest of the West African countries.”
“But the truth is, we want to avoid our dependence on fossil fuels that are not cheap. And we will also continue to pursue our regional engagements to make sure we get less cost for our people. To make it sustainable, we must have sustainability energy projects in the country. Our dependence on fossil fuels will not take us anyway and that is the reality,” he said.
Minister Juwara acknowledged the current lack of local capacity to meet national energy demands. He emphasised that this is why The Gambia relies on SENELEC, citing that the ongoing projects are aimed to address the country’s energy needs in the future.
“So in terms of having immediate as I said earlier, there is no quick fix at the moment, but we are working on projects that are going to help us to be able to address our energy needs for the future,” he told the members.
