Background
The organisation responsible for electricity generation, transmission and distribution in most of Equatorial Guinea is Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica de la Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial (ENERGA). The mixed company, Segesa, is also active in Malabo.
Equatorial Guinea’s generating capacity is made up of thermal and hydroelectric generation.
Hydro stations on the East Coast of Bioko and near Bata supply the country with electricity and plans have been made to install thermal generators on the mainland. More hydro development is likely and natural gas reserves have been identified.
Approximately 21 million kilowatt hours of electricity were generated in 1998, which was insufficient to meet local demand. The country has an installed capacity of 5 MW, the majority (4 MW) of which comes from oil-fired thermal plants. The remainder of the capacity comes from hydroelectric facilities, which are badly affected by lack of water during dry years. For this reason, the Ministry of Energy and Mines purchased three generators to combat difficulties experienced at the Bikomo hydroelectric plant.
The Riabo Dam, Bioko’s primary supplier of power, has been in operation since 1989.
Projects
Construction of a turbo plant outside Malabo has improved Equatorial Guinea’s power situation. The project was funded by the Government to an amount of 9 billion CFA and was managed by US-based CMS-Nameco. The plant’s current capacity of 10.4 MW is thanks to a supply of natural gas from Punta Europa, and has the potential to double if further developments are required.
Another gas-fired power plant is under construction at the AMPCO complex on Bioko. The 4 – 6 MW project has the potential to increase Equatorial Guinea’s generating capacity significantly. The project is being run on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) system. Gas from the Alba field and future gas finds offshore of Bioko will power the plant.
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