President Bio Promises to Prioritise Energy Demand in 2025

President Julius Maada Bio has promised to give priority to the energy sector in 2025.

During his New Year’s Eve speech, the President said his government plans to upgrade the energy sector in the West African country.

“Meeting our country’s growing energy demand will be a top priority in 2025,” Bio said.

He added that he will continue to work on various initiatives to improve the energy mix to power homes and industries.

“To accelerate our country’s development, we will actively seek financing and technical partnerships for renewable clean energy investments,” he said.

Bio added that the $480 million MCC is a milestone for the country as they hope to utilise the money to improve energy access and reliability supply to households and businesses.

Sierra Leone’s energy crisis is one of the oldest in the sub-region but a 10-year civil war compounded by corruption reduced the sector to a low ebb. A decade after the country’s civil war, successive governments have taken gradual steps to mitigate the crisis.

Currently, most rural areas in the country remain dark with cities still suffering from intermittent power cuts. Recently, the Sierra Leone government was awarded a $480 million grant from the US’ MCC to support the energy sector.

The local population hopes that the proper utilisation of this grant will enhance clean, reliable and affordable electricity in the coming years.