Across West Africa, reliable electricity remains a challenge, with many countries struggling to provide a steady supply to households and businesses. The region’s smallest country, The Gambia, is no exception.
So, when residents in the capital of The Gambia, Banjul, and surrounding areas went without electricity for up to 48 hours in some places, frustration spilled onto the streets.
On the night of September 7, protesters took to the streets in Banjul and other parts of the Greater Banjul Area, burning tyres and blocking roads as anger over the prolonged power cuts boiled over.
The protests raised a question beyond the immediate blackouts: how did The Gambia’s electricity system reach a point where prolonged outages could spark protests?
A system stretched by rising demand.
The pressure on The Gambia’s electricity system is not only about how much power the country can generate. Demand has also grown sharply as electricity use has risen in the country.
The National Water and Electricity Company Ltd, NAWEC, says electricity demand has nearly tripled over the past decade, rising from about 300,000 megawatt-hours in 2016 to 970,000 megawatt-hours in 2026. The utility has attributed the increase to growing consumption across the country, while it has also linked the latest crisis to higher demand during periods of extreme heat.
The gap between demand and available supply became clearer in April 2026. NAWEC reported peak electricity demand of 106 megawatts, while available capacity stood at about 78 megawatts. The utility said this left a deficit of up to 26 megawatts, prompting load shedding.
By June, the situation had deteriorated further, as prolonged outages continued across parts of the country. NAWEC subsequently approved a temporary emergency power arrangement of up to 70 MW, using Light Fuel Oil/diesel, in response to reduced regional power availability. The company said the additional capacity would be used during peak periods and only as needed.
These figures also show why the amount of electricity a power plant can produce on paper is not always the amount available to consumers.
NAWEC’s 2024 regulatory data, for example, shows that the available capacity of individual generators at Kotu and Brikama was substantially lower than their nominal capacity. The newly commissioned 23 MW Jambur solar plant also had 15 MW available that year.
Where The Gambia gets electricity from
The Gambia’s electricity system is built around a combination of domestic generation and imported power.
The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) operates the country’s main thermal power stations at Kotu and Brikama, with heavy fuel oil and light fuel oil providing much of its domestic generation.
The country has also begun adding renewable generation, most notably with the 23 MW Jambur solar plant and its accompanying 8 MWh battery storage system, commissioned in 2023.
However, domestic generation supplies only part of the country’s electricity. The Gambia is connected to the regional electricity network through the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du fleuve Gambie (OMVG), allowing it to purchase electricity from neighbouring Senegal and Guinea.
The country’s first 225-kilovolt transmission line, commissioned in 2025, connected the national grid to the wider OMVG network and the West African Power Pool.
Data from 2024 shows the scale of the country’s reliance on imported electricity. The Gambia imported a combined 387 GWh from Senegal and Guinea, equivalent to about 66 percent of the electricity supplied that year. The imports included up to 50 MW of thermal power from Senegal and up to 32 MW of hydropower from Guinea.
NAWEC says the country now has about 150 MW of import capacity through the OMVG connection. That figure refers to how much electricity the system can receive through the regional connection; it does not mean that the full amount is always available.
Regional supply can fall because of generation shortages, technical problems or other constraints. In June, as power shortages worsened, NAWEC said its emergency power arrangement was a response to reduced regional power availability.
The regional connection therefore gives The Gambia access to electricity from neighbouring countries, including hydropower from Guinea, but the amount available to the country can also depend on conditions beyond its borders.
The Infrastructure Underneath the Numbers
The gap between electricity demand and available supply also depends on the condition of The Gambia’s domestic generating infrastructure.
According to NAWEC Deputy Managing Director Sampo Ceesay at the General Government Monthly Press Conference in June, several generating units were undergoing rehabilitation, temporarily reducing the amount of power the utility could produce.
He said one 10 MW unit at the Brikama Power Station was awaiting spare parts ordered from South Korea, which had been delayed in transit. NAWEC said it had spent more than US$1 million on maintenance in the preceding months.
In his September 8 address, President Adama Barrow linked the power crisis to record electricity demand across the West African Power Pool, failures of major generating units and seasonal reductions in hydropower production through the OMVG interconnection.
NAWEC Managing Director Gallo Caidy, speaking to journalists during President Barrow’s inspection of the NAWEC power station in early September, also pointed to climate change and the war in the Middle East as major threats to electricity supply.
“If you ask me, the biggest threat to this power is climate change and the war in the Middle East,” he said.
“This time last year, we were getting about 70 to 80 megawatts from Guinea because the dams were full, but this time the rains are not there. We have no control over it, but to mitigate that, we are working 24/7 to address the situation.”
Barrow also acknowledged problems within the domestic system, saying: “I must admit, however, the shortcomings in our planning, power generation, and maintenance systems to take corrective measures.”
The problems with domestic generation predate the latest outages. An IMF assessment found that insufficient maintenance had forced several heavy and light-fuel engines at Kotu and Brikama out of service, reducing domestic installed generation capacity to 81 MW in 2024, alongside the 23 MW Jambur solar plant.
Other accounts have pointed to the country’s reliance on imported electricity. Gambian economist and politician Dr Ousman Gajigo, speaking on Gambia’s QTV, argued that the “government had not invested enough in domestic power generation over the years”.
Alpha Robinson, an independent engineering and management consultant and former Managing Director of NAWEC, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa that Senegal and Guinea had reduced the amount of power supplied to The Gambia, leaving NAWEC’s own generation “not just enough” for the country.
Robinson also pointed to the end of the 7-year emergency power supplied by the Karpowership contract from 2018 and ending in May 2025 as one factor that worsened the electricity shortage.
The Financial Problem Behind the Power Problem
NAWEC’s electricity system is also under financial pressure. The utility has faced high generation costs, electricity losses, and tariffs that do not fully cover the cost of supplying power.
The IMF’s 2025 assessment found that NAWEC’s financial sustainability had been weakened by high generation costs, electricity losses, and tariffs that are below cost-recovery levels.
In 2023, the utility recorded a non-audited net loss of GMD 2.7 billion, or about US$45 million, while the gap between its costs and tariff revenues had reached about US$32 million.
The assessment also found that moving away from the more expensive Karpower arrangement towards cheaper electricity imports from Guinea reduced the average cost of electricity. Efforts to reduce technical and commercial losses also improved NAWEC’s financial position.
At the same time, restoring domestic generation has contributed to arrears owed to regional electricity suppliers. According to the IMF’s 2026 assessment, NAWEC’s arrears to Senegal’s national electricity company SENELEC and Guinea’s electricity utility, EDG, amounted to US$44 million.
In June, President Barrow confirmed NAWEC’s debt to SENELEC, saying: “We cannot deny that NAWEC is indebted to SENELEC and this is affecting our ability to deliver consistent electricity to Gambians.”
Fuel and electricity-import costs have added to the pressure. The IMF expects NAWEC’s costs to rise with higher fuel and imported electricity prices.
New Capacity and The Government’s Response
The government’s response includes adding new generating capacity.
In his September 8 address, President Adama Barrow said the government was in the final stage of installing an additional 24 MW generation unit at the Brikama Power Station, with commissioning expected by the end of October 2026. He described the addition as significant for a system of The Gambia’s size.
The government is also moving ahead with a 50 MW solar power plant in Soma. Barrow said the contract had been awarded, and the contractor was mobilising to begin work, although he did not give a completion date.
The project had been in development before the current crisis: NAWEC’s plan describes a 50 MWp solar park with battery storage, with the site potentially expandable to 150 MWp in later phases.
President Barrow told Gambians that the planned solar capacity should not be treated as electricity that will be available around the clock.
“We must note, nevertheless, that the sun does not shine at night, and that is when people suffer most. What solar does is to carry the daytime load cheaply and rest our engines so that they are fuelled and ready for service in the evening, when families are at home,” he said.
President Barrow also announced a Presidential Task Force on Electricity Supply, chaired by the Vice President Muhammed B.S. Jallow and reporting directly to the Office of the President. The task force will provide public updates every two weeks on efforts to address the electricity crisis.
Who Pays When the System Fails?
For households without backup generators, prolonged outages have meant intense heat, food spoilage and difficulty keeping phones charged.
President Adama Barrow acknowledged the impact of the outages, saying that “children walk in the dark” and that “mothers have had to throw away stale food”.
For businesses, the losses are more direct. Fishmonger Nyima Sonko told Africanews that her business was stalling because fish was spoiling, while another trader, Jula Jagne, said the absence of electricity had made it difficult to keep chicken and other meat cold.
Sirah Darboe-Manneh, another fish vendor who spoke to AFP, said, “The customers are not forthcoming. They are not buying fish anymore because they don’t have a place to keep it.” She said the cost of ice had more than doubled because the vendors who produce it rely on electricity. With the disruption affecting her business, she said she was struggling to make enough money for her children’s school supplies.
Other small businesses, including millet sellers, tailors, printers and traders, have also reported disruptions linked to the power cuts.
The outages have also affected health services. Hospitals have had to rely on generators, with AFP reporting that some generators occasionally faltered.
At Kanifing General Hospital, a temporary power disruption occurred after its backup generator and solar system experienced an overload. The hospital later said power had been restored and that emergency and urgent surgeries continued.
For households and businesses that depend on electricity, the outages have meant spoiled goods, disrupted work, and higher costs for alternatives such as ice and backup power.
The recent power crisis has exposed the pressure building across The Gambia’s electricity system. Demand has grown sharply over the past decade, while available generation has fallen below peak demand.
Domestic power plants have faced maintenance problems, while a large share of the country’s electricity comes through regional imports whose availability can also fluctuate.
The government has announced new projects for increased electricity production, including the 24 MW Brikama unit and the planned 50 MW Soma solar project. The Brikama unit has a stated commissioning target of October 2026, while the Soma project remains under development without a publicly specified completion date.
At the same time, NAWEC is operating under financial pressure, with losses, arrears to regional suppliers and continued government support adding to the strain on the utility. The crisis has also exposed how problems in generation and imported supply can translate into prolonged outages for households, businesses and essential services.
For former MD of NAWEC Alpha Robinson, however, the longer-term issue is not simply how much electricity the country can generate. He argues that NAWEC itself has to be “reformed, so it becomes fit for purpose, efficient and with financial discipline and staff that are well trained and equipped”.
For now, the figures tell the story that demand is rising, available generation remains tight, imports matter, generating units are frequently unavailable, and NAWEC is under financial pressure.
