The Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay engaged the management of Karpowership to discuss ways of settling a forty million United States Dollars (US$40m) debt owed by the Sierra Leone government for electricity supply.

Austine Luseni, Communication Specialist at the Ministry of Energy disclosed this information to the public following plans by the Turkish energy firm to halt its power generation activities in the capital city Freetown, due to the unresolved debt of about 40 million dollars.

However, the management of Karpowership has, after consultations with their Local Representatives and the Minister of Energy, decided to put on hold plans to turn off the turbines or reduce the electricity supply in the Western Area. Except for the intervention of the Minister, the said plan would have taken effect past Tuesday, 13th February 2024.

This unfortunate development is expected to cause a major power outage in the capital city Freetown, as the management of Karpowership has been contributing around sixty-five (65) megawatts of power generation capacity to the country since 2020, meeting eighty (80) percent of the country’s total electricity demand.

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The Turkish company which is a major player in the floating power plant industry and a subsidiary of the Karadeniz Energy Group, had previously entered into agreements in 2018 and 2020 to supply electricity to the country’s state power utility the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA). They are also one of three key sources of electricity for the city, alongside the country’s hydroelectric dam and power imported from an interconnection with Ivory Coast, which also serves Guinea and Liberia.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy Alhaji Kanja Sesay has assured the public that the debt situation will soon be settled by the government and also promised that a win-win agreement will be reached.