The Gambia is facing a deepening power crisis with extensive load shedding in the Greater Banjul Area and the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) has called for urgent financial assistance and government approval to import emergency 70 megawatts of electricity from Senegal’s national utility, SENELEC.
Internal documents dated June 12, 2026 — a financial risk assessment, board resolution and official correspondence with the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines — show NAWEC is fighting to close a widening electricity supply gap while confronting serious financial risks from emergency power procurement.
At present, available national generation capacity has fallen to about 67 megawatts, while peak demand has risen to approximately 110 megawatts, leaving a deficit of over 40 megawatts. This shortfall has forced extended and repeated power cuts nationwide.
The situation has been worsened by the loss of around 100 megawatts of regional supply linked to the KarPowership facility, significantly reducing electricity imports from Senegal through SENELEC.
To stabilise supply, SENELEC has proposed an emergency arrangement to deliver up to 70 megawatts of electricity for up to 50 days, mainly during peak evening hours between 6 p.m. and midnight.
The project would generate an estimated 21 gigawatt-hours, using additional generation at the West African Energy facility in Cap des Biches, Rufisque, initially running on light fuel oil before transitioning to natural gas after fuel shipments arrive.
But the money is huge.
NAWEC estimates that the emergency supply would generate about GMD306.8 million in revenue but would cost approximately GMD661.8 million, resulting in a projected net loss of GMD354.9 million equivalent to roughly GMD7.1 million per day. This makes the GMD661.8 million cost figure the central financial burden of the entire emergency plan.
A separate briefing warns that if similar emergency purchases continue throughout 2026, NAWEC’s overall deficit could nearly double, rising from GMD375 million to about GMD848 million.
Despite the financial strain, NAWEC argues the intervention is critical to prevent a deeper energy collapse. The utility warned of supply shortfalls of 60 megawatts or more during peak hours without further imports, risking grid stability.
It also raised the prospect of cascading risks beyond electricity, saying prolonged outages would disrupt water production and distribution systems, with potentially serious consequences for households, businesses and healthcare services. In its most serious warning, NAWEC says that sustained load shedding could worsen public frustration and raise broader concerns about social stability and national security.
NAWEC also notes that repeated outages are accelerating wear and tear on transmission and distribution infrastructure, increasing the risk of equipment failure and further service interruptions. The emergency power would only be deployed during peak demand periods, and NAWEC says the projected losses are a worst-case scenario.
The company anticipates the arrangement will be short term, pointing to expected improvements in regional supply including partial restoration of SENELEC generation capacity and increased hydropower imports from Guinea with the onset of the rainy season.
The NAWEC Board of Directors, chaired by Dawda K. Jawara, approved the request on June 12, saying the intervention is operationally necessary despite its financial cost. The Board has formally sought government support under the State-Owned Enterprises Act, 2023, and directed management to seek approval from the State-Owned Enterprises Commission, relevant ministries, the Office of the President and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs before any alteration to the existing power purchase agreement with SENELEC could be effected.
Separately, the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy, and Mines has also urged urgent action, with Permanent Secretary Abdoulie Jallow calling for financial support to offset expected losses and stabilise electricity supply.
NAWEC maintains that all approvals and implementation steps must be fast-tracked given the severity of the national electricity situation.
