Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CONAKRY187
2009-03-26 15:55:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Conakry
Cable title:  

REVISITING GUINEA'S POWER GENERATION CAPACITY

Tags:  ENRG ECON PGOV ASEC GV 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRY #0187/01 0851555
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261555Z MAR 09 CCY ADX0047C5B3 MSI9391
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3573
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
UNCLAS CONAKRY 000187 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY - ADDING SENSITIVE CAPTION
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG ECON PGOV ASEC GV
SUBJECT: REVISITING GUINEA'S POWER GENERATION CAPACITY

REF: A. 08 CONAKRY 0114

B. 08 CONAKRY 0566

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000187

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY - ADDING SENSITIVE CAPTION
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG ECON PGOV ASEC GV
SUBJECT: REVISITING GUINEA'S POWER GENERATION CAPACITY

REF: A. 08 CONAKRY 0114

B. 08 CONAKRY 0566


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. A March 25 FMS visit to Conakry's central
power station revealed that nothing has changed over the past
year with respect to the country's looming electricity
crisis. Only a quarter of the generators are even
operational, but EDG (Guinean Electric Company) only runs
them at night because the company does not have enough cash
to buy the fuel needed to run them during daylight hours.
Maintenance consists of cannibalizing parts from
non-operational generators to keep the other five running.
The two generators donated by Libya shortly after the coup
are being used at Camp Alpha Yaya, but even if they were at
the main facility, they do not have the capacity to supply
much more than what would be needed for one or two apartment
buildings. Increasing budget constraints suggest that the
situation may get worse -- and lack of electricity has proven
to be a flashpoint for civil unrest in the past. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) An Embassy team headed by FMS spent the morning of
March 25 touring Conakry's power generation facilities with
the Assistant Director General of EDG (Guinean Electricity
Company). FMS had initially visited the plant in April 2008
with Econoff (reftel),although the March 25 tour was far
more extensive as it covered all five generating facilities.
The Conakry Tombo plant is the country's main power
generating facility, regulating the supply of electricity not
only to the capital, but to the interior as well. Power
generated by the country's hydroelectric dams is also
controlled centrally at Tombo.


3. (SBU) An exact count was not possible, but there looked
to be about 20 generators on site, all of which were in
varying stages of disintegration. The oldest generators
(circa 1988) were non-operational as they had been almost
completely cannibalized for parts. Other generators appeared
to be intact with respect to parts, but EDG officials said
they were not in working condition. EDG claimed that five
generators are currently operational, but none of these were
actually running during the plant visit. They did start one
up during the tour, but then shut it back down as the Embassy

team left the building. When asked why the generators were
not running during the day, the EDG Assistant Director
General initially hedged, but finally admitted that the
company cannot afford the fuel required to operate them
around the clock so they only run them at night.


4. (SBU) Compared to the FMS visit a year ago, the physical
condition of the plant appeared unchanged. There was no
visible evidence of significant repair operations other than
additional cannibalization of non-operational machinery.
There were parts strewn about the floor. FMS observed one
repair facility, which EDG claimed is used to fix
transformers, but no work was being done at the time of the
visit.


5. (SBU) At the Mototo distribution station, EDG officials
explained how the Conakry plant controls and distributes the
power generated at Tombo as well as the country's four
hydroelectric dams. However, EDG said that they currently
operate only one hydroelectric plant during the day and all
four at night. They claimed that this schedule was necessary
during the dry season in order to conserve water.


6. (SBU) The Embassy team also visited the Kipe sub-station,
which controls the power that goes to the Embassy as well as
the neighboring Radio Television Guinean station. According
to EDG, the sub-station was specifically built to supply
power to these two buildings, but because the Embassy no
longer purchases power from EDG, the facility is
underutilized. FMS explained that the Embassy cannot take
power off the grid at this point in time because the power
supply line is not adequately protected. (COMMENT. OBO has a
pending project to upgrade the security on the supply line.
END COMMENT).


7. (SBU) FMS inquired about two new generators that were
reportedly donated by Libya shortly after the December 23
coup. EDG officials said that the two 800 kva generators
were donated directly to the military and are currently being
used at Camp Alpha Yaya. (COMMENT. At 800 kva, the Libyan
generators produce 1/14th the amount of electricity as a
single Tombo generator. They would be far too small to
supply power more broadly to the grid. END COMMENT).

--------------
COMMENT
--------------

8. (SBU) The bottom line is that nothing has changed over
the last year with respect to Guinea's capacity to supply
electricity. EDG continues to lack the financial resources
necessary to even run the operational generators, let alone
repair the ones that are not working. This situation may get
worse in the months ahead as the national budget becomes even
more constrained. Conakry's power plant was built in 1988
and with proper maintenance, should have been able to operate
at full capacity for several decades. Instead, the facility
is falling apart just 20 years later, even with several new
generators added in 1997. The erratic supply of power to
capital neighborhoods has proven to be a flashpoint for civil
unrest in the past. Although the CNDD is quite popular, the
electricity issue is likely to surface again at some point,
especially if diminishing budget resources mean that EDG may
have to cut the electricity supply at night as well as during
the day. END COMMENT.
RASPOLIC