Baba Fatajo, the general manager of the national energy company, Nawec, has confirmed that negotiations are at an advanced stage for the country to source electricity supply from Senelec, the national electricity company of Senegal.
Nawec has been struggling with old generators and limited financial resources. It is owed hundreds of millions of dalasis by consumers including public enterprises.
Fatajo said the initiative which is expected soon is a familiar agreement among many African countries who rely on one another for energy.
“If Senegal has an excess in energy, they can supply and if we also have an excess, we can supply them,” he told The Standard.
“The deal is very likely. Discussions are on and hopes are very high because both utility companies are very enthusiastic about it.”
The energy that is going to be outsourced, Fatajo said, will be used in powering rural Gambia.
Nawec currently covers only 42% of the country. Although there have been many expressed intents of investment, analysts say its debt liabilities was a put- off.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Mai Fatty told journalists that the move is part of initiatives aimed at normalising the erratic water and power supply being experienced at the moment in most parts of the country.
Fatty said the energy outsourcing will in particular help The Gambia’s rural settlements, while the government works on the issue of old generators to normalise water and electricity supply and distribution throughout the country.
