Of the 681 MW total installed generation capacity in 2016, 676 MW are represented by JIRAMA assets (of which 514 MW are diesel and 162 MW are renewable energy ) or are managed by JIRAMA under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The total generation capacity is decreasing due to a general lack of maintenance. Emergency generators have been contracted by the government – as a response to the insufficient supply – from companies including HIER (hydro), HFF (diesel and hydro), AGGREKO (diesel), TAMATRADE (diesel), FIRST ENERGY (diesel), FIRST INVESTMENT (diesel) or ENELEC (heavy fuel and diesel). Only 6 MW correspond to rural electrification sites managed by independent operators (of which 3.5 MW are diesel and 2.5 MW are renewable energy. At present, around 12 small-scale and micro-hydro plants with a total capacity of around 300 kW operate in the country and are often installed in hybrid diesel systems.
JIRAMA estimates that there were 799 outages due to power breakdowns on the medium voltage network in 2015, more than twice a day on average. Some parts of the capital experience load shedding of several hours each day, while anticipated power breakdowns are organized in secondary cities. Many residential and commercial establishments maintain diesel generators to compensate for load shedding, and purchase equipment to prevent frequent voltage fluctuations.
Planned Expansion to Generation Capacity
Several energy development opportunities are underway in hydro, solar PV, wind and biomass. In particular, two Calls for Projects aiming at increasing rural electrification rates have been launched in 2015 by ADER – Agency for Rural Electrification Development – for the installation of renewable energy generation in four regions in the North for about 10 MW (Call for Project 1 – small hydro off-grid) and in three regions in the South, for about 15 MW (Call for Project 2 – hydro, solar PV, wind, biomass). Calls for Projects for larger scale hydro projects have been launched since 2015 by the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons. Some of these large-scale projects aim at adding production to the three national interconnected grids.