Sierra Leone Outdoor Power Tariff

Is the mini-grid tariff in Sierra Leone unaffordable?

It is important to emphasize that although the mini-grid tariff in Sierra Leone is considered unaffordable by many, a large number of mini-grid customers had never used electricity in this form prior to the arrival of the mini-grid and ended up consuming more electricity than they could afford.

Why is Nigeria reducing electricity costs compared to Sierra Leone?

The larger size of the Nigerian market (and increased scale of electricity demand) plays an important role in driving cost reductions vis-à-vis Sierra Leone, where there are fewer mini-grid customers in more sparsely populated rural villages.

Does Sierra Leone have a sustainable mini-grid sector?

The purpose of this study is to provide practical guidance and recommendations to the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) for the sustainable development of the country’s mini-grid sector by building upon lessons learned from the ongoing Rural Renewable Energy Project (RREP) as well as from mini-grid sector development in Nigeria.

Can mini-grids power rural agriculture in Sierra Leone?

In Sierra Leone, where most of the population lives in rural areas and engages in subsistence agriculture, mini-grids can power rural agricultural productivity and create new businesses or expand existing ones linked to the agricultural value chain. (Figure ES-1).

How are electricity tariffs set?

Tariffs are set taking into consideration operational costs, depreciation of assets, reserves for maintenance and replacements of assets, taxes, capital-related costs, and a reasonable profit margin depending on the quantity of electricity sold.

Can EEI help Sierra Leone integrate Pue into mini-grid development?

Under the Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI), the REA pursued an end-to-end approach for electrifying commercial hubs/economic clusters. Both the NEP and EEI initiatives can serve as a blueprint for Sierra Leone to integrate PUE into mini-grid development (more on PUE in Section IV).